HI    1, 


<^ 


BX  9815  .W36  18A6  v. 4 

Ware,  Henry,  1794-18A3. 

The  works  of  Henry  Ware,  jr 


THE 


WORKS 


/ 


HENRY  WARE,  JR.,  D.  D 


VOL.  IV. 


BOSTON : 

JAMES    MUNROE    AND     COMPANY. 

LONDON . 
JOHN   CHAPMAN,    121    NEWGATE   STREET. 

1S47. 


Kntered  accordiiijT  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1SJ7,  by  Makv  L 
Ware,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Disuricl  oi' 
Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPKO   AT   'PHK 
BOSTON    TYPE   AMD  STBREOTVPF.   POUNnHY. 


SERMONS 


HENRY    WARE,   JR.,   D.  D. 

VOL.  IL 

TO     WIIICII     ARE    ADDED     HIS     WOKK    ON    THE 

FORMATION  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHARACTER, 

AND     HIS 

SEQUEL    TO    THE    SAME, 

NOW     FIRST     PUBLISHED. 
NEW      EDITION. 


BOSTON: 

J  A  M  E  S    M  U  N  R  O  R     A  \  D    CO  M  1'  ANY. 

LONDON: 

JOHN'  ril.M'MAV,   121   NEWGATE   STKEET. 

18  41). 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1847.  bv  Mary  L. 
Wake,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of 
Massachusetts. 


STERKOTYPED    AT    THE 
BOSTON   TYPE  AND   3TE11E0TYPE   KOUNDRY. 


ADVERTISEMENT 


This  volume  of  Mr.  Ware's  Works  contains  his 
sermons  on  the  Character  and  Offices  of  Christ,  which 
were  originally  published  by  himself  in  a  separate 
volume ;  a  selection  from  his  sermons  preached  at 
Ordinations  ;  two  Historical  Discourses  at  the  comple- 
tion of  the  first  century  of  the  New  Brick  Church ;  a 
Farewell  Address  to  the  members  of  the  Second 
Church  and  Society ;  his  work  on  the  Formation  of 
the  Christian  Character ;  and  his  Sequel  to  the  same, 
left  unfinished  at  the  time  of  his  d<g,th. 

C.  R. 


CONTENTS. 


SERMONS  OxN    THE    CHARACTER   AND  OFFICES  OF 
CHRIST. 

SERMON    I. 

PAfiE. 

Christ  the  Foundation, 1 

SERMON    II. 
Jesus  the  Messiah, 15 

SERMON    III. 
Sufficiency  and  Efficacy  of  Faith  in  tlie  Messiah, 31 

SERMON    IV. 
Jesus  the  Mediator, 44 

SERMON    V. 
Jesus  the  Savior, 58 

SERMON    VI. 
Jesus  the  High  Priest, 73 


VUl  CONTENTS. 

SERMON    VII. 

PASS. 

The  Atonement  by  Jesus  Christ, 85 

SERMON    VIII, 
Jesus  tlie  Intercessor, 94 

SERMON    IX. 
Christ  the  Judge  of  the  World, 113 

SERMON    X. 
On  Honoring  the  Son,.  .7 126 

SERMON    XI. 
The  Example  of  our  Lord, 140 


MISCELLANEOUS  SERMONS. 

SERMON    XII. 
The  Old  North  Church, 153 

SERMON    XIII. 
The  New  Brick  Church, 176 

Notes  to  Sermon  XII 2!)4 

Notes  TO  Sermon  XIII 207 


CONTENTS.  IX 

SERMON    XIV. 

nam. 
Means  of  Promoting  the  Spread  and  Glory  of  the  Gospel, 215 

SERMON    XV, 
The  Object  and  Means  of  the  Christian  Ministry, 242 

SERMON   XVI. 
'I'lii'  Ciiristian  Minister  a  Defender  of  the  Gospel, 5i5tJ 


A  Farewki.l  AnDRESs  to  xirE  Second  Church  and  Society 
I.N   Boston,  delivered  October  4,  1830, 27G 


FORMATION    OF  THE   CHRISTIAN   CHARACTER,.  .283 

Author's  Preface, 2c;4 

Contents, 285 


PROGRESS    OF    THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE;  a    Sequel 
TO  THE  "Formation  of  the  Christian  Character,". 323 

Advertisement, 304 

A  ulhor's  Preface, 3D5 

Contents, 397 


SERMONS. 


SERMON    I 


CHRIST  THE  FOUNDATION. 

1  CORINTHL\^'S   III.    11. 

rOR  OTHER  FOUNDATION  CAN  NO    MAN  LAV    THAN   THAT  13  LAID,  U-HICH 
IS  JESUS  CHRIST. 

In  the  preceding  verses,  the  apostle  has  been  speaking 
of  the  divisions  which  prevailed  in  the  Corinthian  church, 
and  which  had  arisen  from  their  unchristian  devotion  to 
particular  teachers.  He  rebukes  them  for  separating  into 
different  parties,  under  different  heads,  one  of  Paul,  another 
of  Cephas,  and  another  of  Apollos.  lie  reminds  them  that 
these  raen  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  heads  of  the  church, 
but  as  ministers  in  it.  "  Who  is  Paul,  and  who  is  Apollos, 
but  ministers  by  whom  ye  believed;  "  not  in  whom.  "  The 
one  planted,  the  other  watered ;  but  he  that  planted  and  he 
that  watered  are  one  ;  "  —  engaged  in  one  work,  pursuing 
one  end,  serving  one  Master,  and  therefore  not  to  be  set  up 
against  one  another  by  their  followers,  and  made  occasion 
of  contention.  "  We  are  laborers  together  with  God  "  for 
your  salvation.  "  Ye  are  God's  husbandry ; "  it  is  our 
business  to  watch  and  cherish  the  plants.  "  Ye  are  God's 
building ;  "  it  is  our  business  to  toil  in  its  erection,  and 
complete  it  a  holy  temple  unto  the  Lord.  "  I  have  laid  the 
1 


3  CHRIST    THE    FOITNDATIOX. 

foundation,  and  another  has  built  upon  it.  But  let  every 
man  take  heed  how  he  builds  thereon  ;  for  other  foundation 
can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ ; " 
and  do  ye  be  careful  that  ye  regard  not  us,  nor  contend 
concerning  us,  as  if  we  were  ourselves  the  foundation. 

The  caution  which  the  apostle  thus  administers  to  the 
Corinthian  church  has  not  ceased  to  be  important ;  and  if 
we  would  be  saved  from  the  folly  and  ruin  of  neglecting  it, 
it  will  become  us  to  consider  diligently  of  what,  and  in 
what  sense,  Jesus  Christ  is  the  foundation.  This  will  be 
the  object  of  the  present  discourse. 

1.  Jesus  is  the  foundation  of  the  church.  It  is  built 
upon  him  as  the  chief  corner-stone.  This  figure  is  not 
uncommon  with  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament.  In 
more  than  one  instance  they  speak  of  the  church,  or  the 
company  of  believers,  as  a  temple,  each  believer  one  of 
the  stones  of  which  it  is  formed,  and  Jesus  himself  the 
foundation,  or  corner-stone.  Agreeably  to  this  idea,  Jesus 
is  represented  in  our  text  as  the  only  foundation  on  which 
the  church  can  stand,  and  in  which  believers  should  trust. 

The  church  is  that  society  or  collection  of  the  good,  who 
have  been  brought  home  to  God,  and  been  fitted  for  heaven, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  dispensations  of  grace 
upon  earth.  It  is  a  permanent  body,  existing  alike  in  all 
ages.  It  is  one  body,  though  of  many  members.  It  must, 
then,  have  some  common  head,  and  conunon  bond  of  union  ; 
and  that  is  Christ.  The  members  are  united  in  him  as  the 
branches  in  the  vine,  and  draw  nourishment  and  support 
from  one  stock.  If  there  be  any  other  head,  bond  of  union, 
source  of  nourishment  and  strength,  it  ceases  to  be  the 
church;  and  those  individual  members  who  abide  not  in 
him,  are  like  branches  severed  from  the  vine,  "  cast  forth 
and  withered."     Without  him  they  can  do  nothing.     They' 


CHRIST    THE    FOtTNDATION.  3 

can  find  neither  life,  nor  light,  nor  support,  nor  the  power 
to  bring  forth  fruit. 

The  believers  at  Corinth  seem  not  sufficiently  to  haVe 
considered  this ;  and  hence  the  apostle  rebukes  them  as 
carnal.  Instead  of  being  satisfied  with  the  authority  of 
Christ,  they  separated  from  him  and  from  one  another  in  an 
unwise  contention  concerning  the  superiority  of  favorite 
teachers,  whom  they  thoughtlessly  exalted  to  be  their 
masters,  although  admonished  that  "  one  only  was  their 
Master."  The  reprimand  of  the  apostle  is  here  recorded  as 
a  warning  to  all  who  should  afterwards  believe.  Yet  by 
how  many  has  it  been  unheeded  !  Every  age  has  witnessed 
other  men,  and  fallible  men,  set  up  at  the  head  of  the  cor- 
ner, instead  of  that  elect  and  precious  One  whom  God 
appointed.  As  the  Samaritans  erected  a  temple  on  Mount 
Oeri'/iin  in  opposition  to  that  at  Jerusalem,  so  the  sects  in 
Christendom  have  often  erected  some  authority  in  preference 
to  that  of  Christ.  There  is  still  too  much  of  this.  "  I  am 
of  Paul,  and  I  (>f  Apollos,  and  I  of  Cephas,"  is  still  a  cry 
too  frequently  heard.  Faith  is  yet  established  on  the  specu- 
lations of  fallible  men,  and  the  salvation  of  the  soul  rested 
on  the  teaching  of  human  wisdom. 

This  is  an  error  frequently  and  pointedly  censured  by 
Jesus  and  his  apostles.  It  is  virtually,  though  not  profess- 
edly, a  renunciation  of  his  authority,  a  rejection  of  his 
rule,  a  rebellion  against  his  government.  The  man  who 
surrenders  his  judgment  to  the  dictation  of  other  men,  in- 
gtead  of  appealing  to  the  written  word  of  Christ's  instruc- 
tion, and  the  church  which  fetters  itself  by  articles  drawn 
up  in  language  which  man's  wisdom  teaches,  instead  of 
walking  in  the  wide  liberty  of  the  charter  of  God's  truth, 
have  laid  another  foundation  than  that  wliicli  is  laid,  and 
are  obnoxious  to  heavy  rebuke. 


4  CHEIST    THE    FOU^■DATION. 

2.  In  the  next  place,  Christ  is  the  only  foundation,  be- 
cause the  Christian  religion  rests  on  his  authority.  He  is 
its  prime  and  only  sufficient  Teacher.  The  religion  is  to  be 
learned  from  him,  and  to  his  word  the  final  appeal  must  be 
made.  No  representations  of  what  it  is,  or  of  what  it 
teaches,  are  to  be  trusted,  except  so  far  as  they  are  per- 
ceived to  be  conformable  to  his  own,  as  uttered  in  his  life, 
and  recorded  by  his  evangelists,  or  illustrated  by  his 
apostles. 

The  wisdom  of  man  is  an  uncertain  and  insufficient 
guide.  For  Christianity  is  not  something  to  be  discovered 
by  us,  but  is  a  revelation  from  heaven,  sent  for  our  accept- 
ance, concerning  which  we  have  nothing  to  do,  but  to  study 
and  receive  it.  It  affords  no  scope  for  invention  or  dis- 
covery. We  may  not  add  to  it,  nor  take  from  it.  We  may 
speculate  concerning  it,  but  may  not  affix  our  speculations 
as  a  part  of  it.  And  if  we  receive  the  alterations  or  addi- 
tions, which  are  found  in  the  traditions  of  the  church  or 
the  books  of  its  teachers,  we  may  be  sure  that  we  receive 
error.  For  the  greatest  corruption  in  doctrine  and  murals 
prevailed  when  the  teachers  had  hidden  the  Bible,  and  set 
up  tradition  and  authority  in  its  stead  ;  when  they  placed 
themselves  in  the  seat  of  Jesus,  and  men  obeyed  them  in- 
stead of  him.  In  this  way,  the  true  light,  which  ought 
always  to  have  been  set  like  a  city  on  a  hill,  was  hidden,  as 
it  were,  under  a  bushel,  and  an  almost  pagan  darkness  over- 
shadowed the  world  —  a  darkness  visible  and  heavy  —  a 
darkness  that  was  "felt"  —  which  was  scattered  only  by 
uncovering  the  light  of  God's  holy  Word,  and  restoring  the 
forgotten  ascendency  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  teaching  of  Jesus  must  be  regarded  as  the  fountain 
of  Christian  truth.  The  instructions  of  others  are  but 
streams  flowing  from  it ;  some  nearer  the  source,  and  some 


CHfttST    TUE    FOUNDATION.  5 

Wtire  distant  from  it,  hut  all  likely  to  he  more  or  less 
affected  hy  the  character  of  the  channel  which  conveys 
them,  and  the  soil  through  which  they  pass.  Even  the 
words  of  the  apostles  are  not  to  be  taken  before  those  of 
Christ  ;  for  to  them  the  Spirit  was  given  by  measure,  to 
him  "  without  measure."  The  treasure  in  them  was  in 
"  earthen  vessels,"  and  they  "  knew  but  in  part."  The 
Spirit  preserved  them  from  injurious  errors  in  communicat- 
ing and  recording  the  truth  ;  but  still  they  are  not  to  be  put 
on  a  level  with  their  infallible  Master,  nor  their  epistles  to 
be  esteemed  and  admired  beyond  his  discour.ses.  They 
wrote  for  particular  churches,  on  .special  occasions,  often- 
times on  subjects  of  temporary  interest  and  questions  of 
controversy,  now  settled  and  forgotten  ;  atid  this  it  is  which 
makes  some  passages  in  their  writings  so  hard  to  be  under- 
stood. Jesus,  on  the  other  hand,  though  adaptiiig  him.sclf 
to  present  circumstances,  yet  had  in  general  a  wider  refer- 
ence to  all  who  should  in  any  age  believe  on  him.  He  was 
l.iying  the  foundation  of  a  temple  for  all  people,  while  the 
tlisciples  were  building  upon  it  for  particular  communities. 
Hence  he  is  more  easily  and  generally  understood,  and  his 
t^'iching  is  more  universally  applicable.  Not  that  the  epis- 
tles are  to  be  in  any  degree  undervalued  ;  for  there  are 
lirge  portions  of  them  still  of  universal  and  most  important 
application.  I  only  mean,  we  are  to  bear  it  in  mind  that  he 
i^  the  Master  of  the  apostles,  no  less  than  of  ourselves ;  and 
that  we  are  safest  in  deriving  the  first  principles  of  our  faith 
from  his  own  lips  and  life,  and  then  interpreting  the  apos- 
tles accordingly.  And  this  is  our  duty ;  not  only  because, 
as  I  said,  he  is  our  Master,  and  not  they,  but  because,  also, 
a  great  part  of  the  perplexing  and  unhappy  consequences 
arising  from  unintelligible  and  superstitious  doctrine,  and 
from  misapprehension  of  Scripture,  have  sprung  from  this 


6'  CHEIST   THE    FOUNDATION. 

very  source  —  the  leaning  on  the  apostles,  instead  of  on 
Jesus ;  the  learning  Christianity  from  their  obscure  discus- 
sions of  particular  questions  at  Rome,  or  Corinth,  or  Gala- 
tia,  instead  of  taking  it  from  the  plain  exposition  of  their 
Master,  who  spoke  for  the  edification  of  all  men,  in  all  ages, 
and  under  all  circumstances.  We  shall  avoid  a  great  evil 
by  going  directly  to  him,  first  of  all.  We  are,  indeed,  to 
build  "  on  the  foundation  of  the  prophets  and  the  ajwstles  ;  " 
but  let  no  man  forget  that  Christ  is  the  "  chief  corner- 
stone," and  that  it  is  in  him*  that  "the  building,  being  fitly 
framed  together,  is  enabled  to  become  a  holy  temj)le,  ac- 
ceptable to  God." 

3.  Again,  Jesus  Christ  may  be  considered  as  the  founda- 
tion, because  to  believe  in  him  as  the  predicted  Messiah  is 
the  fundamintal  article  of  the  Christian  faith.  This  is 
important  to  be  remarked,  because  it  presents  an  answer 
to  an  inquiry  often  made,  in  which  all  are  interested  — 
"  What  doctrine  is  to  be  regarded  as  truly  fundamental  and 
essential  ?  "  The  manner  in  which  our  text  is  worded  fairly 
suggests  a  reply. 

The  term  Christ,  as  is  well  known,  is  not  the  name  of 
the  person,  but  the  title  of  office.  It  indicates  the  station 
or  character,  and  is  equivalent  to  the  Messiah,  or  the 
Anointed.  The  proper  name  of  our  Lord's  person  is  Jesus  ; 
by  which  he  is  designated  throughout  the  evangelists. 
The  official  title,  Christ,  did  not  become  a  proper  name 
until  after  the  resurrection  ;  for  until  then  the  great  unde- 
cided question  among  his  countrymen  was,  whether  he  were 
truly  the  Christ  or  not.  It  wa3  the  belief  that  he  was  so 
which  distin;jiiishod  his  disciples  from  tlie  other  Jews,  and 
tliey  accordingly  called  him  Jesus,  the   Christ  —  the  Mes- 

*  Eph.  ii.  '2\.  The  pronoun  in  tlu-  original  is  in  the  singular 
number  —  n  u>. 


CHRIST    THE    FOUNDATION.  7 

si.'ih  —  the  Anointed ',  from  which  use  it  readily  passed  into 
a  name,  as  in  our  text,  and  throuirhout  the  epistles. 

Tlie  primary  importance  of  this  article  of  faith,  thus 
demonstrated  by  its  becoming  inseparably  associated  with 
the  very  name  of  the  Savior,  points  it  out  to  us  as  the  fun- 
damental article  of  the  Christian's  belief  All  the  other 
truths  and  doctrines  of  the  Christian  system  grow  out  of 
this  and  rest  upon  it.  Upon  this  depend  the  authority  of 
tiie  Master  and  the  allegiance  of  the  disciples.  While  this 
stands,  those  remain.     If  this  be  removed,  they  fall. 

A  slight  glance  at  the  history  of  the  New  Testament 
coiitirnis  this  position.  The  Messiah  had  been  predicted 
by  many  of  the  prophets,  and  his  coming  was  anxiously 
awaited  by  the  Jewish  people.  At  the  time  of  our  Lord's 
appearance,  the  expectation  had  become  general  and  impa- 
tient. Men  thronged  around  him,  *'  musing  in  their  hearts 
whether  this  were  the  Christ  or  not."  The  chief  people 
sent  messengers  to  inquire,  and  they  put  the  question  to 
himself —  "  Tell  us  plainly,  art  thou  the  Christ  ?  "  This  was 
the  great  controversy  between  the  believers  and  the  Jews. 
Upon  the  decisi<m  of  this  depended  the  whole  question  of 
his  authority  and  claims.  Those  who  admitted  it  followed 
and  obeyed  him.  Those  who  denied  it  crucified  and 
rejected  him.  Throughout  the  book  of  the  Acts,  therefore, 
we  find  that  it  is  this  which  was  the  burden  of  the  apostles' 
preaching.  "  God  hath  made  this  same  Jesus,  whom  ye 
crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ."  "Proving  from  the 
Scriptures  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ."  "  This  Jesus,  whom  I 
preach  to  you,  is  the  Christ."  To  establish  this,  was  the 
object  which  they  had  at  heart.  To  establish  this,  they 
labored,  and  reasoned,  and  entreated.  For  they  knew  that 
when  this  sliould  be  granted,  all  else  would  follow  of  course. 
When  they  should  have  persuaded  men  to  acknowledge  him 


8  CHRIST    THE    FOTTNDATION. 

as  the  Messiah,  they  knew  that  his  instructions  must  be 
received  as  the  message  of  God,  and  his  religion  stand  and 
prevail  by  its  divine  light  and  power.  Consequently,  we 
find  drawn  up  by  them  no  authoritative  list  of  essential 
articles,  no  precise  and  dogmatical  creeds,  "  which,  except 
a  man  keep  whole  and  undcfiled,  he  shall  without  doubt 
perish  everlastingly."  *  No;  these  were  the  inventions  of 
weaker  men  in  more  ignorant  times,  who  cared  more  for 
their  own  and  less  for  their  Master's  influence.  The  apos- 
tles were  satisfied  to  proclaim  this  as  the  one  essential 
article,  the  distinguishing  principle  of  the  Christian,  on  the 
reception  of  which  a  man  should  be  numbered  among  the 
believers.  They  preached  to  men  Jesus  the  Christ. 
They  declared  what  he  had  done  and  taught,  and  left  them 
to  derive  his  system  from  his  own  life  and  instructions, 
labors  and  sacrifices — aiding  them,  to  be  sure,  by  their 
reasonings  and  illustrations  ;  but  at  the  same  time  declar- 
ing, "  We  have  no  dominion  over  your  faith."  Would  to 
God  that  all  teachers  had  been  as  modest  and  consistent ! 
Would  to  God  that  all  Christians  would  understand  and 
abide  by  the  liberty  thus  allowed  them  ;  acknowledgincr  no 
foundation  but  this,  Jesus  the  Christ,  and  taking  heed  "  how 
they  build  thereon." 

4.  We  are  likewise  to  regard  Jesus  Christ  as  the  founda- 
tion, because  he  is  the  source  of  all  satisfactory  religious 
knowledge. 

Jesus  called  himself  "  the  Light  of  the  world ;  "  and  he 
is  truly  the  fountain  and  depository  of  whatever  licrht  we 
possess  on  the  great  subject  of  religion.  There  is  to  us, 
strictly  and  properly  speaking,  no  other.  We  know  nothing 
on   the  subject,  clearly   and  certainly,  but  what  we   learn 

*  The  language  of  the  Jithanasian  Creed. 


CHRIST    THE    FOUNDATION.  9 

from  liiin,  or  have  been  enabled  to  attain  in  consequence 
of  what  he  has  taught  us.  It  is  true  that  we  gather  some- 
tliing  of  the  existence,  attributes,  and  providence  of  God 
from  the  works  of  nature ;  but  how  little  should  we  be  able 
to  do  it,  without  the  aid  of  revelation  !  We  find  the  great 
principles  of  morality  and  accountableness  in  "  the  law 
written  on  our  hearts;"  but  it  is  our  previous  acquaintance 
witli  the  Christian  revelation,  which  enables  us  to  see  them 
so  distinctly  there,  and  they  have  been  very  obscurely  dis- 
cerned by  those  who  have  not  the  benefit  of  this  aid.  We 
might  learn  something,  also,  from  the  great  human  lights 
which  have  adorned  and  instructed  the  world  in  all  ages; 
but  not  enough,  amidst  their  own  vague  and  contradictory 
notions,  to  be  a  sure  and  satisfactory  guide.  For  it  is 
certain  that,  however  great  the  wisdom  of  the  world  may 
have  been,  still  "  the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God." 

What  man  might  be  capable  of  learning,  under  any  cir- 
cumstances, from  his  own  unassisted  inquiry,  it  were  unprof- 
itable to  discuss.  All  history  declares  the  plain  and  incon- 
trovertible fact,  that  by  his  own  unassisted  inquiry  he  has 
learned  comparatively  nothing.  The  certainty  and  dcfinite- 
ness  of  the  very  first  principles  he  owes  to  the  instruction 
of  Jesus;  and  if  he  have  added  any  thing  by  his  own  efforts, 
it  is  because  he  has  built  upon  this  foundation,  and  been 
guided  by  this  light.  Who  knows  any  thing  of  God,  "  but 
the  Son,  and  he  to  whom  the  Son  has  revealed  him "  1 
Who  understands  any  thing  of  the  purposes  of  the  divine 
will,  but  they  who  have  received  it  from  Jesus?  Look 
over  the  history  of  the  world,  brethren ;  in  former  and  in 
present  times,  in  Christian  and  in  pagan  lands,  —  where 
do  you  find  religious  knowledge,  and  from  what  fountains 
does  it  (low  ?  Do  you  not  trace  all  its  streams  to  Nazareth  ? 
Do  you  not  find  every  beam  emanating  from  the  Star  of 


10 


CHEIST    THE    FOUNDATION. 


Bethlehem  ?  And  is  not  every  region  dark  and  unwatered 
which  these  do  not  visit  ?  Look  also  to  your  own  minds, 
and  consider  whether  you  possess  any  valuable  knowledge 
concerning  God,  any  certain  and  satisfactory  truth,  any 
sustaining  and  peace-giving  acquaintance  with  things  invis- 
ible and  future,  which  is  not  derived  from  the  Christian 
doctrine.  And  will  you  not  say,  then,  with  earnest  faith, 
"  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  Thou  hast  the  words  of 
eternal  life." 

5.  Again,  we  are  to  regard  Jesus  Christ  as  the  founda- 
tion oi  true  morality  ;  as  not  only  revealing  the  true  system 
of  religious  faith,  and  the  character  and  purposes  of  God ; 
but  as  bearing  an  authorized  communication  concerning 
right  and   wrong,  and  establishing  the  laws  of  virtue. 

It  is  a  distinction  of  his  religious  system,  that  it  is  emi- 
nently a  system  of  morals,  resting  on  authority.  There 
have  been  other  moral  systems,  but  they  have  rested  on 
speculation,  and  were  therefore  imperfect  both  in  theory 
and  in  practice.  There  have  been  other  religious  systems, 
but  they  have  been  separated  from  morality,  and  have  pro- 
duced the  monstrous  absurdity  of  open  and  undisguised 
alliance  between  religion  and  vice.  Religion,  among  the 
pagan  nations,  has  been  engaged  in  little  else  than  expe- 
dients to  appease  capricious  divinities,  and  devices  for 
reconciling  the  consciences  of  men  to  their  sins,  and  keep- 
ing the  state  in  order  by  mystery  and  spectacle.  Jesus 
builds  his  whole  system  on  opposite  principles,  and  makes  a 
thorough,  undeviating,  searching  morality  its  essential  and 
vital  spirit,  without  which  piety  is  but  hypocrisy,  and  wc^r- 
ship  but  blasphemy. 

The  character  of  his  morality,  also,  differs  from  that 
which  has  been  taught  by  the  wise,  and  prevailed  in  the 
customs  of  the  world.     They  have  appealed  to  the  sensitive 


CHRIST    THE    FOUNDATION.  11 

sentiment  of  honor,  and  endeavored  to  make  men  virtuous 
from  selfishness  and  pride.  They  have  cultivated  a  spurious 
virtue,  upon  the  soil  of  interest,  policy,  and  expediency. 
They  have  set  value  on  the  superficial  and  showy,  rather 
than  the  deep  and  real.  They  have  sometimes  placed 
virtue  in  passion,  and  sometimes  in  insensibility,  and  some- 
times in  the  useless  and  wasteful  seclusion  of  indolent  con- 
templation. The  moral  principle  of  the  world  has  thus 
been  always  unfixed  and  wavering  ;  it  has  fluctuated  with 
fashion  and  circumstances,  and  changed  as  humor  or  acci- 
dent might  dictate;  for  the  guides  of  the  world  have 
erected  their  systems  on  false  theories,  and  on  wrong  and 
inadequate  motives ;  or  if  they  had  not  done  so,  yet  they 
could  settle  nothing  and  control  no  one,  for  they  had  no 
authority.  But  Jesus  speaks  with  authority  —  the  authority 
of  a  commissioned  messenger  from  the  moral  Governor  and 
Judge  of  men.  He  communicates,  from  the  instructions 
of  infinite  rectitude,  the  knowledge  of  duty,  the  boundaries 
of  right  and  wrong,  the  definitions  and  motives  of  virtue, 
the  promises  and  threats  of  retribution. 

The  nature  and  requisitions  of  true  morality  are  thus 
established  by  one  who  has  a  right  to  establish  them,  and 
from  whose  word  there  can  lie  no  appeal.  Our  own  feel- 
ings, passions,  and  whims,  by  which  we  are  so  ready  to  be 
ruled,  must  give  up  the  reins  to  his  law.  To  that  must  be 
yielded  the  decision  in  all  questions  of  conduct  and  duty. 
If  God  had  not  spoken,  we  might  have  inquired,  "  What  will 
be  convenient  or  pleasant,  what  will  gratify  our  passions,  or 
promote  our  present  interests;"  but  now  the  inquiry  must 
be,  "  What  doth  the  Lord  our  God  require  of  us  ?  "  What  is 
the  language  of  Christ?  What  is  the  spirit  of  his  religion? 
How  are  we  instructed  by  his  example  ?  The  conduct 
which  cannot  bear  the  scrutiny  of  such   questions  is  wrong. 


12  CHRIST   THE    FOUNDATION. 

The  morality  which  is  not  conformable  to  this  standard  is 
unsound  and  false.  No  matter  if  it  be  agreeable  to  some 
theoretical  rule  of  abstract  right,  or  some  high-toned  prin- 
ciple of  honor,  or  some  proud  and  unswerving  law  which 
we  have  laid  down  to  ourselves.  No  matter  if  it  conform 
to  some  strong  feeling  within,  which  claims  to  be  the 
voice  of  God,  or  to  some  urgent  circumstances  of  expe- 
diency, which,  we  persuade  ourselves,  are  the  monitions  of 
his  providence.  Still,  if  it  contradict  the  pure  and  holy  rule 
of  Christ,  if  it  be  inconsistent  with  the  benevolent  and 
devout  spirit  of  his  gospel,  it  is  fundamentally  and  utterly 
to  be  condemned ;  it  is  immoral  and  bad.  For  true  moral- 
ity stands  only  in  the  instructions  of  him  who  is  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life;  and  no  other  foundation  can 
man  lay. 

6.  We  may  say  once  more,  Christ  is  the  only  foundation 
of  the  believer's  hope.  It  is  from  him  and  his  gospel  that 
we  learn  those  truths  concerning  the  mercy  and  placability 
of  God,  which  give  hope  of  pardon  on  repentance,  and  of 
acceptance  in  our  imperfect  attempts  to  please  him ;  — 
from  him  alone,  also,  that  we  derive  sufficient  assurance  of 
a  future  life,  and  an  existence  of  eternal  purity  and  peace. 
Upon  these  points  the  understanding  might  speculate,  and 
sometimes  plausibly  conjecture;  but  what  could  it  ever 
knoto  ?  What  did  it  ever  know  in  the  uninstructed  lands 
of  heathenism  ?  The  whole  history  of  the  world  teaches  us, 
that  on  these  points,  so  interesting  to  man's  heart,  so  essen- 
tial to  man's  happiness,  there  has  been  nothing  but  supersti- 
tion and  dim  conjecture,  except  where  the  gospel  has  been 
revealed.  It  is  the  message  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  has 
taught  the  grace  of  Almighty  God;  which  has  proclaimed 
his  long-suffering  and  compassion ;  which  has  encouraged 
sinners  to  repent  and  return  by  invitations  of  forgiving  love; 


CHRIST   THE    FOUNDATION.  IS 

which  has  declared  the  kind  allowance  of  our  Father  for  un- 
avoidable imperfection,  and  thus  given  courage  to  human 
weakness.  It  is  this  only  which  proclaims  to  a  world  lying 
in  wickedness,  that  "  God  hath  not  appointed  it  to  wrath, 
but  to  obtain  salvation  through  the  Lord  Jesus  C!iri.st," 
and  "  hath  sent  liis  Son  into  the  world,  not  to  condenni  the 
world,  but  that  the  world  through  him  might  be  saved." 
Man  —  doubting,  frail,  tempted,  fearful  —  hears  the  voice 
of  love,  .and  looks  up  in  the  humble  assurance  of  faith.  No 
longer  an  alien,  but  a  son,  he  seizes  the  out-stretched  hand 
of  iiis  blessed  Lord,  and  goes  on  his  way  rejoicing. 

There  is  another  hope  which  he  founds  on  the  same  rock 
—  the  hope  of  a  coming  immortality.  Once  he  was  in  bon- 
dage through  the  fear  of  death.  But  now  hi.s  Savior  hatii 
abolished  death,  and  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light. 
The  bitterness  of  death  is  passed.  There  is  light  within 
the  tomb.  There  is  a  visible  region  of  glory  beyond  it. 
And  the  child  of  earth,  who  once  shuddered  and  was 
wretched  in  the  dread  of  everlasting  extinction,  is  now  able 
to  smile  upon  the  dreary  pathway  to  the  grave,  and  triumph 
over  the  terrors  of  corruption. 

What  an  inestimable  privilege  is  this  !  With  his  open 
Bible  before  him,  and  the  image  of  his  gracious  Savior  in 
his  mind,  how  does  the  conscience-stricken  penitent  rejoice 
amid  his  tears,  in  the  hope  of  offered  pardcm  !  How  does 
the  humble  and  self-disfrusting  believer,  who  stands  trem- 
bling and  abashed  in  the  presence  of  infinite  purity,  find 
comfort  in  the  encouraging  accents  of  Christ's  soothing 
voice,  and  the  hope  of  acceptance  at  the  throne  of  grace ! 
How  does  the  reasoning  and  dying  offspring  of  the  dust  — 
to  whom  e.xistence,  and  friendship,  and  virtue  are  dear  — 
rejoice  with  holy  gratitude  in  the  hope  that  his  existence 
shall  be  renewed,  and  his  desires  satisfied,  in  heaven ! 
2 


14  CHRIST    THE    FOUNDATION, 

Thanks  be  to  God  for  this  unspeakable  gift  —  this  glorious 
hope,  which  in  every  season  of  trial,  and  every  stormy  strait 
of  sorrow  and  fear,  is  "  an  anchor  to  the  soul,  sure  and 
steadfast." 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  farther  than  this.  We  perceive 
that  the  foundation  of  the  Christian  church,  and  of  all  true 
religion  in  the  world,  and  of  individual  faith,  knowledge, 
virtue,  and  hope,  is  laid  in  Jesus  Christ.  All  our  religious 
light,  security,  and  peace  rest  upon  this  rock.  Other  we 
have  none,  and  can  have  none.  Let  us  leave  this,  and 
where  shall  we  go?  Who  will  teach  us  the  words  of  eternal 
life  ?  who  instruct  us  in  the  things  which  pertain  to  our 
everlasting  peace  ?  who  guide  us  to  tlie  Father  of  love,  and 
open  to  us  the  gate  of  heaven  ?  Every  other  guide  is  un- 
certain, every  other  path  is  dark.  Men  have  followed 
them,  and  gone  astray  ;  have  walked  in  them,  and  stum- 
bled ;  have  sought  rest  in  them,  and  found  none.  There  is 
none  other  commissioned  from  heaven,  but  the  Son  of  the 
virgin.  "  There  is  no  name  given  among  men,  whereby  we 
can  be  saved,  but  that  of  Jesus  Christ." 


SERMON    II 


JESUS  THE  MESSIAH. 
MATTHEW  XVI.  15,  lb. 

HE  SAITH  UXTO  THEM,  BUT  WHOM  .SAY  YE  THAT  I  AM  .'  AND  SIMOff 
PETER  ANSWERED  AXD  SAID,  THOU  ART  THE  CHRIST,  THE  SO.\  OF 
THE    LIVIXG    eOD. 

TiiK  question  which  our  Lord  here  propose.s  to.  his  dis- 
ciples, whicli  agitated  with  intense  interest  the  whole 
Jewish  nation  during  his  ministry,  lias  lost  none  of  its 
interest  or  importance  in  the  lapse  of  ages.  It  was,  and 
is,  the  question  upon  which  rests  the  decision  of  his  claims 
to  the  obedience  and  gratitude  of  mankind.  It  is  a  ques- 
tion, too,  which  has  received  different  answers,  even  from 
his  own  disciples  in  his  own  church,  as  it  did  from  his 
countrymen  while  he  lived.  The  passion  for  specula- 
tion, and  the  fondness  for  opinion,  have  found  exercise 
even  on  tliis  subject,  and  have  thrown  perplexity  and  debate 
on  what  is  in  itself  plain  and  simple,  and  has  been  most 
clearly  decided,  in  the  only  important  particular,  by  the 
express  authority  of  Scripture.  To  the  Scriptures,  then,  we 
have  recourse;  and  it  is  truly  matter  of  gratitude,  tha*  a 
distinct  reply  to  the  inquiry  is  there  recorded,  which  satis- 
fied our  Lord,  and  which  consequently  ought  to  satisfy  us. 


16  JESUS    THE    MESSIAH. 

If  it  was  sufficient  for  Peter  to  know  and  acknowledge  him 
as  TiiR  Messiah,  it  must  also  be  sufficient  for  us.  No  man 
may  demand  or  desire  a  more  full  and  satisfactory  rej)ly, 
than  that  which  drew  upon  the  apostle  the  memorable 
blessing.  No  man  may  doubt  that  a  similar  blessing 
awaits  all,  who  shall  make  the  same  profession  with  equal 
earnestness,  faith,  and  devotion,  and  carry  it  out  to  the 
same  practical  consequences.  In  order  to  this,  we  must 
understand  what  such  a  profession  implies ;  what  is  in- 
tended by  his  being  "the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,"  and 
what  is  the  value  of  faith  in  him  as  such.  To  illustrate 
these  objects  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  discourse. 

It  is  to  be  remarked,  first  of  all,  that  the  titles  given  to 
our  Lord  in  the  text  are  unquestionably  synonymous,  and 
are  used  to  indicate  the  same  office.  The  ancient  Jews 
familiarly  employed  the  phrase  Son  of  God  as  one  of  the 
names  of  the  Christ,  or  Messiah.  They  used  them  both 
promiscuously,  to  denote  that  great  Prince  and  Deliverer, 
whom  they  also  styled  King  of  Israd  and  Son  of  David,  and 
whom  they  were  expecting  to  fulfil  the  prophecies.  That 
the  titles  are  thus  equivalent  to  each  other  is  rendered  evi- 
dent by  many  passages  in  the  New  Testament.  Thus,  in 
the  beginning  of  our  Lord's  ministry,  Andrew  came  and 
told  Peter,  "  We  have  found  the  Mrssiah."  Philip  said  to 
Nathanael,  "  We  have  found  him  of  whom  Moses,  in  the  law, 
and  the  prophets,  did  write."  And  Nathanael  cried  out  to 
Jesus,  "  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God,  tliou  art  the  King  of 
Israel."  It  is  obvious  that  each  of  llioin,  using  dilTorent  lan- 
guage, intended  to  express  the  same  thing  —  that  this  was  the 
expected  Messiah.  Again,  when  the  elders  and  scribes  de- 
manded of  Jesus  if  he  were  the  Christ,  he  replied  indirectly, 
"Hereafter  shall  the  Son  of  man  sit  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
power  of  God."     They    inuncdiatcly  exclaimed,  "  Art  thou 


JESUS   THE    MESSIAH.  17 

then  the  Son  of  God?"  In  this  case  nothing  can  be 
plainer  than  that  the  two  phrases  are  of  the  same  import. 
Tliere  is  also  a  passage  in  the  first  epistle  of  John,  in  which 
their  equivalency  "  is  stated  with  the  precision  of  a  syllo- 
gism." 

"  Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  is  born  of 
God." 

"  Whatsoever  is  born  of  God,  overcometh  the  world." 

"  Who  is  he  that  overcometh  the  world,  but  he  that  be- 
lieveth that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God?  " 

It  is  thus  plain,  that,  according  to  the  usage  of  the  Jewish 
jieople,  adopted  and  sanctioned  by  Jesus  and  the  apostles, 
the  title  Son  of  God  has  precisely  the  same  significance 
with  that  of  Messiah*  As  if  to  intimate  this,  the  evange- 
lists are  wont  to  place  them  together;  so  that  we  read,  in 
numerous  passages,  "  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,"  evi- 
dently put  in  apposition,  as  interpreters  of  each  other. 

The  term  3Lssiah,  or  Christ,  is  the  special,  peculiar, 
distinguishing  title  accorded  to  Jesus.  Its  original  signifi- 
cation is  the  Anointed;  and  it  embraces  whatever  office  or 
duty  it  was  the  purpose  of  his  mission  to  perform.  In  a 
word,  it  is  his  official  designation ;  and  its  importance  and 
completeness  may  be  estimated  by  remarking,  that  it  was 


*  "  To  be  the  Son  of  God,  and  to  be  the  Christ,  are  but  different 
expressions  of  the  same  thing."  "  It  is  the  very  same  thing  to  be- 
lieve that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  and  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God, 
express  it  how  you  please.  This  alone  is  the  faith  which  can 
regenerate  a  man,  and  put  a  divine  spirit  into  liim  ;  that  is,  make 
him  a  conqueror  over  the  world,  as  Jesus  was."  — Dr.  Patrick,  bishop 
of  Elij,  as  quoted  by  Locke,  in  the  postscript  to  his  First  Vindication. 

Oa  the  whole  subject  of  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Christ,  I  refer  the 
reader  very  earnestly  to  that  invaluable  treatise  of  Locke,  The  Rea. 
sonableness  of  Chrislianitij,  as  delivered  in  the  Scriptures. 

2* 


18  JESUS   THE    MESSIAH. 

by  this  title  he  was  predicted,  expected,  announced,  re- 
ceived, acknowledged,  and  persecuted,  preached  to  the 
nations,  and  believed  on  in  the  world.  From  the  days  of 
the  prophets  who  foretold  his  appearing,  to  the  sortg  of  the 
angels  at  his  nativity,  and  the  establishment  of  his  kingdom 
amongst  the  Gentiles,  this  is  his  chosen  title  ;  and  by  this  it 
is  declared  that  "  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become 
the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ." 

Under  this  title  his  coming  was  predicted.  When  Daniel 
spake  of  him,  he  called  him  "  Messiah  the  Prince ;  "  and 
Isaiah  alluded  to  the  name  when  he  said,  "  Jehovah  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  glad  tidings." 

Under  this  title  his  advent  was  anxiously  expected.  The 
Jews  waited  long  for  their  promised  deliverer  and  king,  and 
the  name  by  which  they  knew  him  was  the  Messiah.  When 
the  Baptist  came,  they  earnestly  asked  if  he  were  the 
Christ ;  and  they  pressed  in  crowds  around  the  path  of  Jesus 
with  the  same  inquiry.  Even  the  Samaritans  had  this  ex- 
pectation ;  so  that  the  woman  at  Sichar  said,  "  I  know  that 
when  the  Messiah  cometh,  who  is  called  Christ,  he  will  tell 
us  all  things." 

Under  this  title  he  was  announced  by  the  angels  at  Beth- 
lehem,—  "Unto  you  is  born  this  day  a  Savior,  who  is 
Christ  the  Lord." 

Under  this  title  he  was  received  and  acknowledged.  The 
twelve  followed  him,  because  they  had  "  found  the  Mes- 
siah." Peter  in  our  text  and  elsewhere,  Martha  at  the 
grave  of  Lazarus,  and  the  man  blind  from  his  birth,  con- 
fessed and  honored  him  as  the  predicted  Messiah.  As  such 
the  multitudes  waited  on  him,  and  "  would  take  him  by- 
force  to  make  hirn  king,"  and  welcomed  him  with  hosannas 
to  the  holy  city. 

As   the    Messiah,   he    became    subject    to  persecution. 


JESUS    THE    MESSIAH.  19 

The  authorities  of  the  land  decreed,  "  that  if  any  man 
should  confess  him  to  be  the  Christ,  he  should  be  put  out 
of  the  synagogue."  They  accused  him  of  blasphemy  be- 
fore their  own  council,  because  he  claimed  to  be  the  Son 
of  God,  that  is,  the  Messiah;  and  before  the  Roman  magis- 
trate they  arraigned  him  for  treason,  in  saying  "  that  he  him- 
self is  Christ,  a  king."  As  such,  the  soldiers  mocked  him 
with  a  crown  and  sceptre ;  and  the  brutal  multitude,  at  the 
foot  of  tlie  cross,  insulted  liis  suffering  with  the  cry,  "  If 
thou  be  the  Christ,  save  thyself;  come  down  from  the  cross, 
and  we  will  believe." 

It  was  as  the  Messiah,  likewise,  that  he  was  preached  to 
the  nations,  and  believed  on  in  the  world.  Wherever  the 
apostles  went  with  the  message  of  Heaven,  this  was  the 
burden  of  their  preaching,  "  reasoning  out  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  proving  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ."  To  this  when  the 
people  consented,  they  were  baptized  and  acknowledged  as 
disciples;  and  on  this  truth  churches  were  gathered  and 
founded.  The  disciples  were  so  familiarly  known  from  this 
leading  article  of  their  faith,  that  the  name  of  Christians 
was  given  them  at  Antioch,  and  has  adhered  to  them  to  the 
present  time. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  title  generally  used  in  the  Scrip- 
tures to  designate  the  peculiar  character  and  essential  office 
of  Jesus,  is  that  of  the  Messiah.  We  proceed  to  inquire 
concerning  the  nature  and  objects  of  the  office  thus  des- 
ignated. 

It  is  a  remarkable  feature  in  God's  moral  government  of 
the  world,  that  it  is  constituted  of  successive  dispensations, 
e;ich  more  perfect  than  the  preceding,  by  which  increasing 
knowledge  and  more  perfect  institutions  have  been  given  to 
men,  "  as  they  were  able  to  bear  them."  In  the  early  com- 
munications of  God,  we  find  frequent  intimations  of  a  pur- 


20  JESUS    THE    MESSIAH. 

pose  to  make  a  final  and  complete  revelation,  and  to  estab- 
lish on  earth,  as  the  greatest  boon  of  divine  benevolence, 
a  permanent  dispensation  of  truth  and  grace,  beneath 
which  a  purer  knowledge  of  God  should  prevail,  the  do- 
minion of  evil  should  be  shaken,  and  order,  peace,  and  hap- 
piness hold  universal  sway.  To  introduce  this  state  of 
things,  was  the  duty  assigned  to  the  Messiah.  For  this 
purpose  he  was  commissioned  and  sent  forth.  And  what- 
ever might  be  necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of  this 
great  moral  design,  forms  part  of  his  commission,  and  is 
comprised  in  the  objects  of  his  office. 

To  this  end,  as  the  very  title  by  which  he  is  known  indi- 
cates, he  was  set  apart  and  consecrated.  The  anointing 
was  a  solemn  form  of  consecration,  by  which  the  priests  and 
kings,  and  sometimes  the  prophets,*  were  separated  to  their 
respective  services  among  the  chosen  people.  It  was  the 
most  significant  act  in  an  august  and  imposing  ceremony 
of  inauguration.  It  was  the  sacred  sign  of  devotion  to  the 
appointed  office  or  work,  and  came,  at  last,  to  stand  for  the 
thing  signified,  in  cases  where  the  sign  itself  had  not  been 
used.  Thus  Cyrus  is  called  the  anointed,  when  commis- 
sioned for  the  overthrow  of  Babylon  and  the  restoration  of 
the  Jews ;  and  the  patriarchs,  and  even  the  whole  people 
of  Israel,  are  so  named,t  because  separated  from  the  rest 
of  mankind  for  the  accomplishment  of  peculiar  purposes  in 
the  moral  government  of  the  world.  In  conformity  with 
this  usao-e,  the  holiest  and  chief  messenger  of  God  to  man, 
appointed  tj  effect  the  most  important  changes  and  intro- 
duce the  perfect  dispensation,  —  to  take  place,  in  the  govern- 
ernment  of  the  church,  of  all  the  priests,  and  kings,  and 
prophets,  who  had,  under  the  former  economy,  been  its  me- 
diators,  instrnctors,  and  rulers,  —  is  for  this  cause    styled 

*  See  1  Kings  xix.  lU.  t    Tsalm  cv.  15;  Ilab.  iii.  13. 


JESUS   THE    MESSIAH.  21 

emphatically  t?ie  Anainted;  "  above  his  fellows,"  says  llie 
Scripture,  because  consecrated  to  a  duty  and  dignity  with 
which  none  other  can  compare  ;  "  with  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
with  power,"  because  it  was  not  for  temporal  and  earthly, 
but  for  spiritual  and  eternal  purposes. 

We  may,  therefore,  without  indulging  a  fanciful  analogy, 
consider  the  Messiah  as  uniting  in  his  own  character  all  the 
s.icred  offices  of  the  ancient  church,  to  which  the  oil  of  con- 
secration was  applied,  and  use  them  for  the  illustration  of  his 
character.  This  we  may  the  rather  do,  because  each  title 
is  freely  accorded  to  him  in  the  sacred  writings. 

The  office  of  the  prophets  was  to  instruct,  to  teach,  to 
admonish,  and  to  foretell  future  events.  They  were  the 
guardians  of  the  public  religion  and  morals,  appointed  to 
watch  against  corruption  and  sin,  and  to  proclaim  the  warn- 
ings and  judgments  of  Heaven  against  infidelity  and  crime. 
It  was  not  an  hereditary  office,  but  one  of  special  appoint- 
ment, at  least  in  its  higher  departments,  to  which  express 
inspiration  was  necessary,  and  to  which  miraculous  powers 
were  often  added.  This  office,  unquestionably,  and  in  its 
highest  character,  was  comprehended  in  that  of  the  Mes- 
siah. In  this  character  Moses  is  supposed  to  have  spoken 
of  him  —  "  A  Prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up  to 
you  from  among  your  brethren,  like  unto  me."  In  this 
character  the  people  expected  him  —  "  Art  thou  that  Proph- 
et?" was  their  inquiry;  and  when  they  accompanied  him 
with  hosannas  to  Jerusalem,  "  This  is  Jesus,"  said  they, 
"  the  Prophet  of  Galilee."  So  his  disciples  described  him  — 
"  a  prophet  mighty  in  word  and  deed."  So  he  called  him- 
self, when  he  said,  "  It  cannot  be  that  a  prophet  should 
perish  out  of  Jerusalem."  And  such  he  proved  himself,  by 
the  works  of  supernatural  power  which  attested  his  divine 
authority  ;  by  the  holy  instructions  which  flowed  from  his 


22  JESUS   THE   MESSIAH* 

lips,  surpassing  all  the  moral  wisdom  of  man ;  by  the  fideKty 
of  his  earnest  and  affectionate  warnings,  his  pathetic  ex- 
postulations, his  powerful  rebukes,  his  authoritative  denun- 
ciations, such  as  no  other  man  ever  uttered,  —  before  which 
the  proud  and  hardened  quailed  as  he  spake,  the  ministers 
of  justice  were  driven  back,  and  tiie  prejudiced  and  power- 
ful silenced ;  and  by  his  many  predictions  concerning  the 
future,  —  which  the  world  has  shuddered  to  see  accom- 
plished, and  which  even  our  eyes  behold  in  a  course  of 
fulfilment. 

The  office  of  priest  is  also  supposed  to  be  comprehended 
in  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus.  It  is  observable,  however, 
that  this  title  is  never  given  him  in  the  New  Testament, 
excepting  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews;  and  there  it  is  in  a 
peculiar  relation,  and  for  peculiar  purposes,  which  cannot  be 
considered  in  the  present  connection.  The  priesthood 
amongst  the  Jews  was  an  hereditary  office,  confined  to  the 
family  of  Levi.  It  was  an  office  separated  from  the  world, 
consecrated  to  religious  duties,  devoted  to  the  service  of  the 
Temple,  and  especially  engaged  in  the  various  ceremonies 
of  an  extensive  ritual,  and  the  offi^rings  and  incense  of  the 
altar.  It  is  plain,  therefore,  that,  although  Jesus  was  liter- 
ally a  prophet,  he  could  not  have  been  literally  a  priest, 
because  he  was  of  Judah,  not  of  Levi,  and  was  not  in  any 
sense  attached  to  the  Temple,  or  occupied  in  its  service. 
But  in  as  far  as  he  was  separated  from  the  world,  and  set 
apart  to  the  promotion  of  religion,  and  lived  wholly  in  a 
state  of  consecration  to  God,  so  far  he  might  be  regarded 
as  possessing  the  sacred  character  of  the  priesthood ;  just  as 
his  disciples,  for  similar  reasons,  are  called  "  kings  and 
priests  unto  God,"  and  "  a  royal  priesthood."  So  far,  also, 
as  his  sulTerings  in  our  behalf  operate  as  a  means  of  lead- 
ing us  to  repentance  and  holiness,  and    of    etfecting  that 


JESUS    THE    MESSIAH.  23 

forgiveness  of  sin,  which  it  was  the  ofTice  of  the  Jewish  high 
priest  to  announce  on  the  annual  day  of  propitiation,  so 
far  Jesus  may  be  regarded  as  the  "  high  priest  of  our 
profession." 

Tiie  office  of  the  Messiah  may  be  in  part,  also,  explained 
by  that  of  king.  The  kings  of  Israel  are  familiarly  known 
in  the  Old  Testament  as  "  the  Lord's  anointed;"  and  as 
the  Messiah  was  to  spring  from  their  race,  and  sit  on  the 
throne  of  his  father  David,  and  their  government  was  to  be 
on  his  shoulder,  so  he  was  to  be  accounted  king  no  less 
than  prophet.  It  may  be  remarked,  indeed,  that  it  was 
peculiarly  and  eminently  as  king  that  the  prophets  had 
spoken  of  him,  and  his  countrymen  expected  him.  "  King 
of  Israel  "  was  one  title  equivalent  to  "  Messiah ;  "  and 
"  kingdom  of  heaven "  was  the  phrase  that  expressed  the 
state  of  tlie  church  beneath  his  influence.  When  "  God 
anointed  him  with  the  Holy  Spirit  and  with  power,"  it  was 
to  be  prince  over  his  spiritual  kingdom  among  men.  The 
people  were  looking  for  a  temporal  prince,  who  should 
literally  accomplish  the  words  of  the  proinise,  and  "  sit  on 
the  throne  of  his  father  David  ;  "  and  therefore  it  was  that 
they  sought  "  to  take  him  by  force  and  make  him  king." 
He  was  on  this  pretence  arraigned  before  the  Roman  au- 
tliority,  as  one  who  made  himself  king  in  opposition  to  the 
emperor.  And  therefore,  when  Pilate  asked  him  if  he  were 
a  king,  he  denied  it  not,  but  only  siid,  in  cxplanition,  '"My 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."  Peter,  accordin^lv,  declares 
him  "  a  Prince  and  Savior ;  "  and  Paul  speaks  of  the  period 
when,  having  accomplished  his  royal  labors,  and  "  put  down 
all  rule,  authority,  and  power,"  he  shall  "  deliver  up  the 
kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father." 

All  this  implies  that  the  office  of  Messiah  etnbraces  tliat 
of  king,  and  that  he  is,  in  the  language  of  Daniel,  "  Mes- 


24  JESUS    THE    MESSIAH. 

siah  the  Prince."  To  him  is  committed  the  dominion  over 
the  moral  provinces  which  form  the  church  of  God,  He 
is  made  supreme  in  all  concerns  of  religion  and  truth,  of 
conscience  and  duty.  The  command  is  given  to  him  over 
the  heart  and  life,  the  opinions,  the  character,  and  the  des- 
tination of  the  intelligent  children  of  earth.  This  is  the 
most  splendid  and  extensive  kingdom  ever  set  up  among 
men  —  an  empire  to  which  the  magnificence  and  power  of 
all  the  empires  that  have  flourished  in  the  past  ages  of  time 
are  not  to  be  compared,  and  to  which  all  the  concerns  of  all 
the  states  of  the  world  are  to  be  finally  made  subservient. 
Already  is  this  in  part  effected.  Already  does  his  peaceful 
and  spiritual  authority  sway  the  minds  of  men  beyond  the 
power  of  human  law  and  the  authority  of  human  custom. 
Already  are  the  manners  of  the  nations  and  the  policy  of 
princes  modified  and  guided  by  his  superior  influence.  But 
he  has  not  yet  taken  to  himself  all  his  power.  As  knowl- 
edcre  and  licrht  advance,  the  minds  of  men  shall  be  yet 
more  completely  subjected  to  hmi ;  all  hearts  shall  bow 
before  him,  and  "  every  tongue  confess  him  to  be  Lord." 
Human  power  shall  be  controlled  by  his  rule,  human  laws 
be  limited  by  his  precepts,  and  all  the  institutions  of  earth 
be  moulded  in  conformity  with  his  spirit.  God  shall  lift  the 
arm  of  his  providence  over  the  nations,  "  and  overturn,  and 
overturn,  and  overturn,"  till  "  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
shall  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ, 
and  he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 

Such  is  a  general  description  of  the  work  which  the 
Messiah  was  commissioned  to  perform,  and  of  the  effects 
which  his  ministrations  were  to  produce.  He  was  to  make 
the  final  revelation  of  God's  will;  to  establish  a  church 
which,  as  a  spiritual  empire  beneath  his  authority,  should 
perpetuate  the  knowledge  and  influence  of  religious  truth  ; 


JESUS   THE    MESSIAH.  25 

to  spread  light,  and  happiness,  and  peace,  by  means  of  liis 
institutions;  to  free  men  from  the  bondage  of  superstition, 
tlie  degradation  of  vice,  and  the  terrors  of  death ;  in  a  word, 
to  set  up  the  dominion  of  God's  holy  and  parental  govern- 
ment, and  prepare  men  fur  heaven  by  bringing  them  on 
earth  to  the  love  and  practice  of  those  holy  graces  which 
form  the  bliss  of  the  good  hereafter.  "  To  this  end  he  was 
born,  and  to  this  end  he  came  into  the  world,  that  he  might 
bear  witness  to  the  truth"  —  the  truth  which  "makes 
free"  from  corruption  and  sin,  and  "sanctifies"  the  soul. 

Three  remarks  follow  from  our  subject. 

1.  It  is  evident,  from  what  has  been  said,  that  the  char- 
acter in  which  our  Lord  appears,  and  in  which  he  claims 
to  be  received  and  honored,  is  an  official  character  simply. 
He  comes  to  the  world  invested  with  a  certain  oflice,  whose 
main  duties  have  been  mentioned,  and  is  an  object  of  atten- 
tion and  reverence  as  holding  that  office.  It  is  the  dignity 
of  the  commission,  which  is  evidently  referred  to  in  all  these 
representations.  They  plainly  have  no  allusion  to  the  na- 
ture of  his  person,  or  the  rank  of  his  being,  or  his  original 
station  of  existence.  They  suggest  no  subtile  discussions 
concerning  his  essence  and  attributes.  They  are  satisfied 
with  pointing  him  out  to  us  as  one  ordained  to  accomplish 
the  most  beneficent  purposes  of  Heaven,  and  for  this  reason 
demanding  the  faith  and  obedience  of  man. 

Let  us,  then,  be  satisfied  with  knowing  and  holding  this  ; 
for  it  is  all  which  the  Scriptures  have  made  essential  on  the 
point,  or  of  which  they  seem  anxious  to  persuade  us.  It 
has  happened,  indeed,  that  men  have  ever  been  solicitous 
to  ascertain  something  further,  and  have  persuaded  them- 
selves that  -a  very  positive  decision  is  necessary  on  points 
relating,  not  only  to  the  authority,  but  to  the  nature,  of 
Jesus.  Perhaps  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  we  should  be 
3 


26  JESUS   THE    MESSIAH. 

free  from  all  solicitude  on  this  subject.  But  whatever  our 
solicitude  may  be,  it  should  never  blind  us  to  the  fact,  that 
it  is  the  receiving  of  Jesus  in  the  offices  and  relations  to. 
which  the  Father  has  appointed  him,  which  the  Scriptures 
make  the  essential  thing ;  and  no  decision  of  ours  on  more 
intricate  and  curious  questions  can  affect  our  Christian 
claim,  if  they  do  not  affect  our  faith  and  obedience  on  this 
great  point.  If  we  truly  hold  this,  all  our  knowledge  on 
other  questions  could  add  nothing  to  our  conviction  of  the 
certainty  and  obligation  of  his  truth,  or  to  the  support  and 
comfort  of  our  faith ;  because,  in  any  case,  he  that  re- 
ceives him  receives  the  Father  who  sent  him,  and  he  that 
rejects  him  rejects  the  Father.  His  doctrines  and  his 
promises,  his  precepts  and  his  threatenings,  have  divine 
authority  ;  and  in  no  case  could  they  have  more.  His  life 
has  accomplished  all  which  it  was  in  any  case  designed  to 
accomplish,  and  his  death  has  all  the  efficacy  which  it 
pleased  God  to  appoint  it  to  have.  To  what  purpose,  then, 
our  anxiety  to  ascertain  the  mystery  of  his  nature?  Why 
fancy  it  essential  to  understand  the  secret  of  his  being? 
When  we  receive  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  we  know  that  we 
receive  him  as  we  are  commanded  to  receive  him.  It  is 
the  good  profession  of  Peter  and  of  Martha;  it  drew  the 
express  commendation  of  their  Lord  ;  it  is  that  for  which 
the  apostles  argued,  and  on  which  the  early  churches  were 
founded  ;  and  why  should  we  suffer  ourselves  to  be  per- 
plexed by  the  contentions  and  mysteries  of  later  ages,  when 
we  may  find  rest  in  that  simple  doctrine,  which  gladdened 
the  hearts  of  the  first  disciples,  and  secured  the  unity  of 
the  primitive  body  ? 

2.  For  the  same  reasons,  the  profession  of  this  faith  by 
others  should  be  sufficient  ground  of  accounting  them 
Christians  and  admitting  them  to  fellowship.     So  tlie  apos- 


JESUS    THE    MESSIAH.  27 

tics  thought  and  practised,  and  we  have  no  right  to  depart 
from  their  example.  Indeed,  if  we  do  not  stop  here,  it  is 
dilhcult  to  say  where  we  may  stop.  If  we  may  add  otic  to  the 
article  which  they  have  declared  essential  to  the  Christian 
name  and  fellowship,  how  many  may  we  not  add  ?  We 
should  learn  a  caution  from  the  history  of  the  church ;  for 
this  proneness  to  increase  the  catalogue  of  fundamental 
truths  has  been  a  most  fruitful  source  of  confusion  and  mis- 
ery. Every  generation  and  every  separate  body  has  some 
pi'culiir  mode  of  viewing  religious  truth,  and  .some  favorite 
doctrine  of  its  own,  which  it  soon  magnifies  into  a  matter  of 
essential  importance,  and  expects  to  find  in  all  who  profess 
to  be  Christians.  It  is  forthwith  added  to  the  list  of 
fiuidamentuls,  and  made  part  of  the  standard  to  which  all 
must  conform.  This  conformity  to  a  various  and  many-col- 
ored system  has  been  the  attempt  of  all  ages.  To  secure  it, 
the  peace  of  the  church  has  been  sacrificed,  the  rights  of 
conscience  and  man  trampled  upon,  and  oppressions  exer- 
cised in  the  name  of  Christ,  which  might  disgrace  the  most 
savage  tyranny  that  has  ever  warred  against  human  peace. 
And  all  to  what  purpose?  To  secure  a  uniformity  of  belief 
in  a  multiplicity  of  articles  —  a  thing  which  never  has  been, 
and  which,  it  is  time  for  us  to  know,  never  can  be,  effected, 
while  God  is  pleased  to  allow  to  men  liberty  of  conscience; 
and  to  coerce  conscience  is  a  crime,  which  always  has  been, 
and  ever  must  be,  attended  with  misery.  But  leave  the 
conscience  free,  and  set  up  no  faith  beyond  that  which  Je- 
sus demanded  and  Peter  professed,  —  then  the  divisions  of 
Christendom  might  end,  and  "  the  broken  churches  be 
healed."  That  uniformity,  which  has  been  hitherto  sought 
for  by  compulsion  and  fire,  will  spring  up  spontaneously  as 
soon  as  believers  shall  think  it  sufficient  to  honor  a  common 
Master  in  his  favorite  and  distinctive  office. 


28  JESUS    THE    MESSIAH. 

Undoubtedly  other  articles  belong  to  the  Christian  sys- 
tem ;  and  he  who  has  received  this  will  learn  them  of  his 
Master.  What  is  to  be  insisted  upon  is,  that  we  have  no 
right  to  dictate  on  the  subject,  nor  to  reject  any  one  who 
holds  this,  on  the  ground  that  he  has  understood  some  of 
his  Lord's  instructions  in  a  different  sense  from  our  under- 
standing of  them.  "  By  taking  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah,  he 
is  made  a  subject  of  his  kingdom  ;  that  is,  a  Christian.  To 
say  that  an  explicit  knowledge  of,  and  actual  obedience  to, 
all  the  laws  of  his  kingdom,  is  wliat  is  required  to  make 
him  a  subject,  is  what  was  never  said  of  any  other  king- 
dom. A  man  must  be  a  subject  before  he  is  bound  to 
obey ;  *  and  he  is  bound  to  obey  the  Lord  of  the  kingdom, 
and  not  his  fellow-subjects.  "  He  stands  or  falls  to  his  own 
master."  How  shall  we  dare  to  exclude  any  one  from  the 
title  and  privileges  of  his  reign,  becaase  he  will  not  substi- 
tute some  other  for  the  simple  profession  of  Peter  ?  How 
shall  we  dare  to  say,  "  You  shall  not  pass  over  the  Jordan 
of  life,  because  you  cannot  utter  the  complicated  Shibboleth 
that  we  have  framed  "  ? 

3.  In  the  last  phice,  those  who  receive  Jesus  as  the  Mes- 
siah, acknowledge  him  to  be  their  teacher  and  supreme 
guide  in  religion  and  duty,  from  whose  authority  there  lies 
no  appeal.  "All  things,"  he  says,  "are  committed  tome 
by  my  Father ; "  "  neither  came  I  of  myself,  but  he  sent 
me."  He  is  presented  to  the  attention  of  men,  not  as  one 
whom  they  would  do  wisely  to  accept,  but  whom,  also,  they 
are  at  liberty  to  refuse.  For  such  is  the  commission  he 
bears,  that  they  cannot  refuse  him  without  rejecting  the 
Father,  who  sent  him.     "  He  that  honoreth  not  the  Son  hon- 


*  See    Locke's    Second    Vindication,    Works,  fol.    ii.    62.").     The 
form  of  the  sentence  is  a  little  varied,  to  suit  it  to  tjie  connection. 


JESUS    THE    MESSIAH,  29 

oreth  not  the  Father."  In  regard  to  other  teachers,  it  is 
optional  with  us  to  learn  of  them  or  not.  We  may  become 
their  disciples  if  we  please;  but  there  is  no  obligation  to  be- 
come so.  We  may  read  their  volumes  if  we  please;  but 
if  we  please  we  may  neglect  them.  But  not  so  in  regard  to 
God's  Anointed.  Such  are  his  pretensions,  concerning 
whom  a  voice  came  from  heaven, "  This  is  my  beloved  Son ; 
UK  All  iii.M,"  that,  if  we  turn  to  him  a  deaf  and  prejudiced 
ear,  it  is  at  the  peril  of  our  souls.  It  is  in  a  manner  the 
essence  of  his  office,  that  it  has  clothed  him  with  a  divine 
right  over  us.  Whether  we  will  hear,  or  whether  we  will 
forbear,  that  right  e.\ists,  and  his  message  is  the  message  of 
God.  He  is  our  Master,  and  Guide,  and  King,  and  we  can- 
not escape  the  obligation  to  follow  his  instructions  and  obey 
his  laws.  There  must  be  no  interference  with  his  author- 
ity, no  hesitation  in  our  allegiance,  no  partial  compliance 
with  his  requisitions.  But  at  all  times,  in  all  places,  in  all 
concerns,  —  in  the  cares  of  life  and  in  the  purposes  of  the 
heart ;  in  the  duties  of  the  world  and  in  the  preparation  for 
death,  —  his  doctrine  must  be  our  supreme  law,  and  his  pre- 
cepts our  only  path. 

Let  us  be  persuaded,  my  dear  brethren,  to  know  and  to 
feel  this.  Let  the  impression  sink  deeply  in  our  hearts, 
that  the  moral  sway  of  Christ  extends,  without  exception,  to 
all  we  are,  and  purpose,  and  do,  and  hope.  Let  us  feel  — 
and  O  that  we  might  act  upon  the  feeling  —  that  in  iiim 
we  have  a  friend,  sent  to  us  from  God,  that  he  may  lead  us 
to  heaven.  As  such  let  us  acknowledge  and  welcome  him. 
The  anthems  of  angels  announce  his  nativity  ;  the  voice  of 
Gnd  bears  witness  at  his  baptism  ;  the  powers  of  nature 
wait  upon  him,  and  obey  him,  while  he  lives ;  they  are  sha- 
ken and  convulsed  when  he  dies;  the  grave  refuses  to  re- 
tain liiiii,  and  his  resurrection  declares  him  to  be  the  Son 
3* 


30  JESUS    THE    MESSIAH. 

of  God  with  power.  He  sends  forth  his  light  and  truth, 
and  the  moral  darkness  of  the  world  is  dissipated.  The 
temples  of  superstition  fall,  the  hulls  of  false  philosophy  are 
deserted,  the  humble  and  neglected  are  elevated  to  dignity 
and  hope,  the  troubled  are  made  acquainted  with  peace,  the 
contrite  are  forgiven,  and  the  dying  smile  with  hope.  "  Old 
things  are  passed  away,  and  behold  all  is  become  new." 
Happy  are  they  who  have  eyes  to  see,  and  ears  to  hear,  and 
hearts  to  feel,  what  the  grace  of  God  has  thus  accomplished 
for  the  children  of  men  !  Happy  they  who  are  partakers 
of  this  moral  regeneration  !  who  know,  from  personal  expe- 
rience, the  worth  of  these  messages  of  life,  and  the  joy  and 
peace  they  impart  to  the  believing !  But  miserable  they 
who  have  no  sense  of  the  greatest  work  which  has  been 
wrought  upon  our  world!  who  have  no  share  in  that  joy 
which  tunes  the  voices  of  heaven,  and  changes  the  face  of 
earth  !  Unhappy  men  !  who  see  it  all,  and  yet  perceive  it 
not ;  who  hear  it  all,  and  yet  understand  it  not ;  who  have 
thus  shut  themselves  out  from  the  most  elevated  happiness 
of  earth,  and  the  sublimest,  the  only  satisfying  prospects, 
which  are  offered  to  the  human  soul.  "  O  that  they  were 
wise ;  that  they  would  understand  this ;  that  they  would 
consider  their  latter  end  1  " 


SERMON    III 


SUFFICIENCY   AND  EFFICACY   OF  FAITH  IN  THE 
MESSIAH. 

1  JOFEN   V.  5. 

WHO   IS   HE    THAT    OVERCOMETH  THE    WORLD,   BUT   HE    THAT    BELIEVETH 
THAT   JESUS    IS   THE    SO\   OF    GOD. 

To  receive  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God,  the  appointed  Mes- 
siah, is,  we  have  already  seen,  to  receive  him  in  the  char- 
acter in  which  he  is  especially  revealed,  and  with  the  pro- 
fession which  he  himself  declared  sufficient.  It  is  the 
primary  and  fundamental  article  of  the  system,  in  which, 
however  tliey  may  otherwise  differ,  all  believers  are  agreed, 
and  which  all  may  find  sufficient  who  will  receive  it  in  the 
true  spirit ;  for  small  and  simple  as  it  may  appear,  it  com- 
prises "  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the  power  of  God,"  and  has 
that  efficacy  which  shall  "  overcome  the  world." 

It  is  sometimes,  how-ever,  thought  inconceivable  that 
belief  in  a  proposition  apparently  so  inadequate  should  pro- 
duce such  vast  effects.  When  we  hear  with  what  energy 
the  gospel  operates,  and  what  extensive  effects  it  is  designed 
to  produce,  we  fancy  there  must  be  some  extensive,  com- 
plicated, wonderful  machinery;  and  with  a  ready  feeling  of 
incredulity,  we  object  that  so  simple  a  statement  of  the 
Christian  faith  must  be  wholly  feeble  and   inefficient. 


82  SUFFICIENCY   AND    EFFICACY 

To  this  objection,  which  indeed  may  seem  plausible,  I 
will  first  offer  a  reply,  and  then  attempt  to  describe  the 
operation  of  this  principle,  so  as  to  prove  that  it  is  not  de- 
ficient in  energy. 

The  objection  proceeds  on  a  wrong  assumption.  It  pre- 
sumes that  we  are  capable  of  deciding  beforehand  what 
faith  would  be  sufficient  or  insufficient  for  the  purposes  of 
religion,  and  that  we  are  at  liberty  to  receive  or  reject, 
according  to  the  estimate  of  our  own  judgment.  But  cer- 
tainly we  are  not  to  trust  our  own  antecedent  judgment  in 
a  case  like  this.  The  Christian  system  is  not  an  invention 
of  ours,  neither  can  we  control  the  power  it  may  exert,  or 
determine  the  consequences  that  may  flow  from  it.  The 
whole  is  dependent  on  that  divine  authority  by  which  it  has 
been  communicated  to  us.  It  is  matter  of  revelation  and 
command ;  and  if  this  simple  faith  be  written  in  its  records, 
we  have  no  right  to  interpose  our  judgment,  and  say  it  must 
be  insufficient.  If  the  express  declaration  of  Scripture  be, 
that  it  shall  "  overcome  the  world,"  we  have  no  right  to  step 
forward  and  allege  that  it  is  impossible. 

Besides,  why  should  we  imagine  it  inadequate  to  the 
purposes  for  which  it  is  ordained  ?  Is  it  not  the  manner  of 
God  to  bring  about  great  effects  from  apparently  feeble 
causes?  It  is  so  in  every  part  of  his  works.  His  mightiest 
rivers,  which  roll  over  immense  regions,  and  bear  the  fertil- 
izing influence  of  his  providence  to  cities  and  nations,  are 
collected  by  him  from  the  drops  that  trickle  from  the  rocks 
of  the  mountains,  and  the  vapors  that  fall  in  dew  upon  their 
sides.  His  tremendous  forests,  that  cover  continents  with 
their  shade,  are  reared  by  him  from  a  few  seeds,  so  small 
that  the  wind  blows  them  about  as  it  were  in  sport.  The 
countless  multitudes  of  his  children,  who  have  acted  and 
been  happy  on  this  stage  of  being,  and   are  to  crowd  the 


OF    FAITH    IN   THE    MESSIAH.  33 

habitations  of  eternity  with  life  and  bliss,  were  gradually 
collected  from  the  few  particles  of  dust  which  composed 
the  first  mail's  frame.  So  true  it  is  that  he  displays  his 
power  and  scatters  his  blessings  by  the  operation  of  small 
means,  rather  than  by  large  exertions ;  gradually,  rather 
than  suddenly.  So  true  it  is  that,  in  all  his  ways,  "  God 
chooses  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  those  that 
are  miglity."  Why,  then,  should  it  be  thouglit  incredible 
that  this  simple  truth,  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  should  be  that 
which  is  to  justify,  and  sanctify,  and  save  a  miserable 
world  ?  Small  it  may  be,  and  insignificant  it  may  seem  to 
man's  perverted  vision ;  but  it  may  be  all  powerful  in  His 
•hands,  who  has  caused  a  few  Galilean  peasants  to  change 
the  face  of  empires,  and  is  able  even  of  the  stones  to  raise 
up  children  to  Abraham. 

This  objection  is  also  sometimes  urged  through  a  misun- 
derstanding of  the  actual  state  of  the  question.  It  is  argued 
against,  as  if  we  had  asserted  this  to  be  the  whole,  as  well 
as  tlie  foundation  of  Christianity ;  as  if  we  made  no  account 
of  the  building  that  is  to  be  raised  upon  it;  as  if  we  incul- 
cated a  ^'  faith  without  works."  But  this  misapprehension 
might  bo  easily  r(;moved.  If  one  should  say,  that  the  root 
is  the  essential  part  of  the  tree,  he  would  not  be  supposed 
to  mean  that  the  branches  and  fruit  are  of  no  value ;  and  if 
one  should  carefully  plant  the  root  in  his  ground,  we  should 
take  it  for  granted  that  he  desired,  and  would  cherish,  the 
branches  and  fruit.  So  it  is  in  the  Christian  system. 
When  we  call  this  doctrine  the  essential  article,  we  do  not 
undervalue  all  others,  nor  declare  that  there  is  none  other. 
But  we  mean  that,  if  this  be  faithfully  planted  and  take  root 
in  the  man,  the  rest  of  the  system  will  grow  from  it,  and 
the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  be  borne  upon  its  branches.  And 
therefore  we  say,  that,  if  we  see  a  man  earnestly  cultivating 


34  SUFFICIENCV    AND    EFFICACY 

this,  it  should  be  satisfactory  evidence  to  us  that  he  is  a  dis- 
ciple, deserving  our  cliarity  and  fellowship.  We  have  no 
right  to  discard  him  because  his  trunk  leans  a  little  to 
another  direction  from  our  own,  nor  because  the  branches 
are  a  little  niore  or  a  little  less  numerous.  If  they  bear 
fruit,  well ;  we  may  judge  from  that  whether  the  root  have 
been  well  planted,  and  whether  the  tree  be  good. 

Consider,  then,  the  natural  operation  and  direct  tendency 
of  this  principle.  One  believes,  sincerely  and  religiously, 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  Now,  I  ask,  is  it 
possible  for  him  to  stop  here,  and  no  consequences  to  fol- 
low 1  If  he  do  not  believe  it  sincerely  and  religiously,  —  if 
he  take  it  only  as  any  other  historical  truth,  but  not  as  • 
having  more  concern  with  himself  than  the  fact  that  Ale.x- 
ander  was  a  conqueror,  or  Xerxes  a  king  of  Persia,  —  then, 
undoubtedly,  he  may  stop  at  the  barren  assent.  But  if,  as  I 
said,  he  believe  it  sincerely  and  religiously,  is  it  not  impos- 
sible that  he  should  rest  here?  For  what  is  implied  in 
such  a  belief?  A  belief  in  God,  the  Supreme  Governor 
and  Father,  who  had  for  ages  spoken  of  Uiat  Messiah  by 
his  prophets,  and  whose  purposes  he  was  sent  to  fulfil ;  a 
belief  in  his  character,  authority,  purposes,  and  will,  as  the 
moral  Ruler  of  men ;  a  belief  that  all  the  instruction  of 
Jesus  rests  on  the  authority  of  God,  and  a  consequent 
reception  of  whatever  he  teaches,  as  the  true  doctrine  of 
religion ;  a  belief  that  the  way  of  acceptance  and  life  is 
revealed  by  him,  and  that  to  disregard  and  disobey  him  is 
to  disregard  the  authority  of  God,  and  to  subject  ourselves 
to  his  displeasure  to  whom  we  are  accountable  at  last. 
The  mind  of  him  who  reltoiousi-y  believes  that  Jesus  is 
the  Christ,  cannot  escape  these  consequences.  They  are 
momentous ;  they  are  affecting  ;  they  are  practical  conse- 
quences.    They  touch  the  springs  of  action  ;   they  agitate 


OP    FATTH    IN    THE    MESSIAH.  35 

him  with   hope  and  fear;  they  teach  him  that  he  has  an 
intinite  interest  at  stake ;   they  make   him    anxious   for  his 
eternal  destiny.     He  feels  that  here  he  is  bound  by  obliga- 
tions which  cannot  be  broken  ;  that  there  is  but  one  path 
left  him  —  Vjiat  of  implicit  submission  to  the  instructions  of 
tills  heavenly  Messenger,  and  a  life  of  devotion,  repentance, 
.nnd    holiness ;    since    it    were   an    insane   inconsistency  to 
-  -knowledge  this  powerful  truth,  and  yet  live  disregardful 
its  authority,  and  uninfluenced  by  its  requisitions. 
[t  is  to  be  considered,  also,  that  this  faith  i.'^  something 
re,  much  more,  than  mere  belief,  inasmuch  as  the  idea 
confidence  or  trust   makes  an  essential  part  of  it.     To 
eve  that  Jesus  is  the  Son 'of  God,  is  to  have  confidence 
nim  as  such.      Many  examples    might    be    adduced  in 
'^h  this  sense  is  most  obviously  implied ;  as  where  our 
says,  "  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled ;  ye  believe  in 
believe  also  in  me."     In  these  expressions  is  mani- 
intended  confidence,  trust.     Indeed,  nothing  can  be 
er,  than  that  there  can  be  no  real  religious  faith,  with- 
iraplicit  trust  in  its  object.     And,  accordingly,  all  the 
xmples   of  faith,  which   the   apostle  has  collected    in  his 
enth  chapter  to  the  Hebrews,  —  Abraham  and  Moses, 
••ophets  and  the  martyrs,  —  are  indisputably  examples 
fidence  in  divine  providence,  trust  in  divine  promises : 
e  faith   by  which   the  Christian,    like  those   ancient 
s,  is  to  overcome  the  world,  is  in  like  manner  con- 
of  firm,  unreserved  trust, 
.lis  manner,  then,  a  true  reception  of  Jesus,  and  trust 
m,    as   the    commissioned     Messiah,    the    authorized 
-her,   the   appointed   Legislator  and   Guide,    inevitably 
.3  to  the  Christian  graces ;  they  are  the  legitimate  and 
oessary  consequences.     If  such-  a  faith  exist,  it   cannot 
land  alone;    it  must,   it   will,    pervade   and   influence  the 


36-  SUFFICIENCY   AND   EFFICACf 

soul ;  it  will  be  seen  and  felt  in  the  thoughts,  the  sentiments^ 
the  desires,  the  dispositions,  the  actions.  It  is  not  itself 
the  whole,  but  it  gives  life  to  the  whole.  Every  principle 
necessary  to  the  Christian  system,  and  to  acceptance  with 
God,  is  connected  with  it  and  flows  from  it. 

There  are  one  or  two  passages  in  close  connection  with 
that  of  our  text,  which  confirm  this  estimate  of  its  moral 
efficacy.  In  the  fifteenth  verse  of  the  preceding  chapter, 
it  is  written,  "  Whosoever  shall  confess  that  Jesus  is  the 
Son  of  God,  God  dwelleth  in  him,  and  he  in  God."  What 
stronger  assertion  could  we  desire  1  And  how  can  we 
fancy  any  weakness  in  that  faith,  to  which  the  apostle  bears 
the  strong  testimony,  that  God  is  in  him  who  professes  it, 
and  he  in  God  1 

Again  he  says,  *'  Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ,  is  born  of  God."  What  further  testimony  could  be 
desired  to  the  efficacy  of  this  faith  ?  He  who  truly  pos- 
sesses it,  is  regenerate,  is  become  one  of  the  adopted  fam- 
ily of  God,  one  of  the  household  of  heaven ;  and  thus  in 
him  the  very  purpose  of  the  Christian  dispensation  is  accom- 
plished. 

The  same  apostle  tells  us  that  the  very  object  of  writing 
his  book  of  the  Gospel,  was,  to  establish  the  faith  "  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  that,  believing,  they 
might  have  life  through  his  name."  Words  cannot  more 
distinctly  state  the  necessary  article  of  faith,  or  more  decid- 
edly assert  its  efficacy.  Who  can  account  it  insufficient, 
when  John  declares  that  it  opens  the  doors  of  life? 

Add  to  these  the  words  of  our  text  —  "  Who  is  he  that 
overcometh  the  world,  but  he  that  believeth  that  Jesus  is 
the  Son  of  God  ?  "  I  ask,  therefore,  again,  what  further  can 
we  desire?  What  stronger  testimony  can  be  given  to  the 
Btrength  of  this  principle  ?     If  it  be  sufficient  to  overcome 


OF    FAITH    IN    THE    MESSIAH.  37 

the  world,  to  give  life  through  his  name,  to  effect  the  Chris- 
tian regeneration,  and  a  spiritual  union  with  God,  to  what 
purpose  can  it  be  insufficient,  to  what  work  unequal  ?  If 
this  faith  be  weak,  what  faith  shall  be  called  strong  1 

Having  thus  established,  from  various  considerations,  the 
sufficiency  of  tiie  principle  laid  down  in  our  text,  let  us  fur- 
ther illustrate  the  subject  by  inquiring  hi  what  manner  it 
operates  so  as  to  secure  this  effect. 

It  operates  by  strengthening  the  soul  with  such  princi- 
ples, and  filling  it  with  such  resources,  that  it  does  not  need 
the  world  for  its  happiness,  but  is  capable  of  being  happy 
independently  of  it.  The  world  ruins  a  man  by  its  tempta- 
tions to  sin,  because  he  foolishly  imagines  indulgence  in  sin 
necessary  to  his  happiness.  The  world  makes  a  man  mis- 
erable by  its  uncertainties  and  calamities,  because  he  has 
set  his  heart  upon  its  prosperity  to  make  him  happy.  If  it 
were  not  so,  —  if  he  had  provided  sufficient  sources  of  happi- 
ness in  things  independent  of  a  sinful. and  changing  world, 
—  then  he  certainly  would  not  run  into  these  destructive  in- 
dulgences, nor  wreck  his  peace  by  trusting  to  the  deceitful 
joys  of  life.  And  this  is  precisely  the  work  of  faith.  It 
furnishes  him  with  other  means  and  resources  of  felicity, 
so  rich,  so  abundant,  that  he  has  no  need  to  draw  upon  sin 
or  pleasure,  and  therefore  is  not  corrupted  by  them,  nor 
made  wretched  by  temporal  losses. 

This  may  be  better  understood,  perhaps,  by  observing 
the  same  thing  in  other  examples.  It  is  very  observable,  in 
the  experience  of  life,  that  different  men,  equally  eager  in 
the  pursuit  of  happiness,  place  their  dependence  for  happi- 
ness in  very  different  things ;  so  that  what  is  absolutely 
essential  to  one,  may  be  of  no  importance  to  another, 
because  his  affections  lie  elsewhere.  For  example  :  here  is 
one,  who  pursues  sensual  indulgence,  lives  for  his  appetites, 
4 


38  SUFFICIENCY   AND   EFFICACY 

and  ig  wretched  if  they  be  restrained.  Here  is  another, 
who  regards  property  as  the  chief  good,  and,  being  wholly 
devoted  to  its  acquisition,  passes  by,  with  supreme  indif- 
ference, those  indulgences  which  are  essential  to  the  other- 
Here  is  a  third,  who  is  solicitous  for  nothing  but  the  acqui- 
sition of  knowledge  and  literary  eminence ;  who  feels  that 
for  himself  happiness  can  be  found  only  in  retirement  and 
study  ;  and  he  would  feel  small  disturbance  at  a  reverse  of 
fortune  affecting  him  in  other  respects.  Instances  of  this 
sort  are  of  daily  observation  —  where  one  man  pursues  with 
the  extremest  earnestness,  and  loses  with  the  deepest  afflic- 
tion, what  another  would  think  worth  no  pains  to  acquire, 
and  would  relinquish  without  a  sigh.  This  depends  entirely 
upon  what  each  had  persuaded  himself  to  be  essential  to  his 
happiness.  The  loss  of  the  merest  trifle,  if  he  have  ac- 
counted it  essential  to  his  happiness,  may  rack  him  with 
intolerable  pangs.  The  heaviest  calamity,  if  he  have  placed 
his  happiness  elsewhere,  may  scarcely  cost  him  a  tear. 
Ahab,  the  great  king  of  Israel,  had  set  his  heart  upon  an 
insignificant  vineyard,  and,  because  he  could  not  obtain  it, 
thought  himself  too  wretched  to  live.  But  Paul,  the  apostle, 
"  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,"  and  gave  them  up  cheer- 
fully, because  to  none  of  them  had  he  trusted  for  happiness, 
but  his  whole  soul  was  absorbed  in  something  else. 

This  explains  to  us  the  power  of  faith,  and  shows  the 
secret  of  its  operation.  If  avarice  is  able  to  overcome  sen- 
suality, so  that  the  miser  is  scrupulously  temperate ;  if  the 
love  of  learning  can  overcome  the  love  of  pleasure,  so  that 
the  student  will  deny  himself  even  to  the  loss  of  health ;  if 
the  desire  of  distinction  will  overcome  the  love  of  ease,  and 
of  friends,  and  every  other  affection,  so  that  the  ambitious 
conqueror  will  live  a  long  life  of  hardship,  privation,  and 
danger,  because  his  only  happiness  is  to  be  great,  —  then. 


OF    FAITH    IN    THE    MESSIAH.  39 

I  ask,  do  you  not  understand  how  the  noble  and  celestial 
principle  of  faith  may  overcome  all  these,  yea,  may  "  over- 
come the  world  "  ?  Do  you  not  see  how  tliis  mighty  prin- 
ciple—  whicii  extends  to  things  iiififtite,  and  glories  im- 
measurable, and  ages  that  cannot  end  —  may  become  a 
RULING  PASSION  in  the  soul ;  may  open  a  fountain  of'  felici- 
ty which  shall  make  all  others  tasteless ;  may  offer  to  in- 
quiring man  an  honor  and  peace,  in  possessing  which  he 
shall  think  himself  more  than  recompensed  for  the  loss  of 
all  others?  As  the  mother,  —  who  once,  in  the  young  hour 
of  beauty  and  enjoyment,  sailed  round  the  giddy  circle  of 
pleasure,  and  could  imagine  no  happiness  of  life  but  in  the 
party  and  the  dance,  in  admiration  and  gayety  ;  but  now, 
with  her  little  charge  about  her,  rarely  goes  from  home,  and 
is  satisfied  to  sit  by  them  night  and  day  —  so  changed  that 
she  regrets  no  enjoyments  abroad,  and  feels  not  a  desire  to 
partake  what  was  once  her  only  pleasure,  —  so  he  that  is 
wedded  to  heavculy  faith,  absorbed  in  its  new  and  purer 
employments  and  satisfactions,  sees  nothing  to  regret  in  the 
forbidden  things  of  the  world ;  is  not  unreasonably  troubled 
by  its  cares,  nor  tempted  by  its  seductions,  nor  overwhelmed 
by  its  disap|)ointments  :  he  has  pleasures  independent  of  it, 
in  the  brightness  and  excellence  of  which  all  others  are 
dim,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  which  the  loss  of  others  is 
unregretted. 

Superiority  to  natural  and  temporal  evil  is  not  the  chief 
purpose  of  the  gospel,  and  yet  it  is  a  common  thing  in  the 
New  Testament  to  declare  that  the  disciples  shall  be  de- 
livered from  it,  and  unaffected  by  it.  Our  Lord,  for  exam- 
ple, commands  his  followers  not  to  be  anxious  concerning 
their  food  and  clothing,  or  tiie  evils  of  poverty,  nakedness, 
and  want;  promising  that,  if  they  seek  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  its  righteousness,  all  needful  good  will  be  added  thereto — 


•Ml  SUFFICIENCY    AND    EFFICACY 

which  is  certainly  a  promise  of  deliverance  from  these  tem- 
poral evils.  So,  also,  he  promises  that  "  every  one  who  hath 
forsaken  houses,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother, 
or  wife,  or  children,  or  lands,  for  my  name's  sake,  shall 
receive  a  hundred  fold,  and  shall  inherit  everlasting  life." 
Here, 'too,  is  a  large  promise  of  deliverance  from  temporal 
evil.  What  was  intended  by  these  promises?  That  they 
should  actually  never  suffer  want,  but  live  in  abundance ; 
that  they  should  actually  receive  a  hundred  fold  more  of 
houses  and  lands,  and  other  possessions?  No  one  supposes 
it.  What,  then,  did  our  Lord  mean  ?  We  may  ascertain  this 
point  by  inquiring  why  such  possessions  are  so  desirable, 
and  why  to  be  deprived  of  them  is  such  an  evil.  The 
single  reason  is,  that  they  are  esteemed  necessary  to  happi- 
ness. If,  then,  a  man  can  be  just  as  happy  without  them,  it 
is  no  longer  an  evil  to  him  to  be  deprived  of  them.  If  the 
want  of  them  do  not  make  him  unhappy,  it  is  not  an  evil  to 
him  to  want  them.  The  want  of  luxury  and  ease  is  no  evil 
to  the  contented  peasant,  who  has  always  lived  in  exposure, 
hardship,  and  labor,  though  it  would  be  insufferable  to  the 
nobleman,  who  has  been  accustomed  to  fare  sumptuously 
every  day.  So,  likewise,  if  one  receive  a  full  and  fair 
equivalent  for  the  good  of  which  he  is  deprived,  he  does  not 
regard  that  privation  as  an  evil.  The  enthusiast,  who  aban- 
dons fortune,  prosperity,  and  friends,  for  the  solitude  and 
devotion  of  a  monastery,  conceives  himself  to  have  received 
a  full  equivalent  for  his  sacrifice,  and  it  is  therefore  to  him 
no  evil.  And  let  a  man's  privations  be  what  they  ma),  to 
him  they  are  no  calamity,  so  long  as  he  feels  that  they  are 
fully  compensated  to  him. 

It  is  on  this  principle,  and  through  the  compensating 
power  of  faith,  that  we  are  enabled  to  understand  our 
Lord's  promises  respecting  temporal  evils.  He  does  not 
mean  that  his  followers  shall  receive  a  hundred  fold  in  kind^ 


OF    FAITH    IN    THE    MESSIAH.  41 

but  in  happiness ;  that  is  to  say,  they  shall  find  that  the 
happiness  and  hope  of  true  religion  are  more  than  a  bal- 
ance for  their  sufferings  and  privations  ;  so  that  tiiey  would 
a  hundred  times  rather  endure  these  than  relinquish  their 
profession  in  order  to  be  free  from  them.  This  is  perfectly 
obvious  and  true  —  as  true  now  as  when  it  was  uttered  by 
our  Lord.  Why  do  we  desire  worldly  good,  and  flee 
worldly  evil  ?  Because  we  desire  happiness.  But  if  religion 
warrants  to  us  happiness  independent  of  worldly  good,  and 
in  spite  of  worldly  evil,  then  we  have  what  we  desire;  then 
our  faith  overcomes  the  world.  That  it  does  this,  there  are 
"clouds  of  witnesses"  —  the  apostles  and  martyrs,  who 
endured  all  things,  and  in  the  midst  of  all  "  sang  praise  to 
God ; "  and  humbler  Christians,  in  the  depths  of  poverty  and 
distress,  yet  cheerful,  content,  and  rejoicing ;  men,  injured, 
threatened,  persecuted,  yet  patient,  serene,  and  uncom- 
plaining, while  they  can  appeal  to  Him  who  judges  right- 
eously ;  men,  lingering  in  painful  sickness,  cut  off  from  the 
engagements  of  life,  their  prospects  blasted,  their  hopes  dis- 
appointed, their  props  torn  away,  yet  not  cast  down  nor 
dismayed ;  but  finding  in  the  power  of  faith  and  heavenly 
hope  a  compensation  for  their  trials,  and  a  victory  over  the 
world. 

Equally  complete  is  their  triumph  over  spiritual  evil. 
They  walk  amid  the  deceitful  disguises  and  fatal  ambushes 
of  sin,  unseduced  and  unharmed.  Though  the  passions 
within  ally  themselves  to  the  solicitations  without,  and  war 
against  their  souls ;  though  the  constitution  of  their  bodily 
frame,  and  the  temper  of  their  mind,  the  circumstances  in 
which  they  are  thrown,  the  company  which  they  frequent, 
and  the  cares  which  occupy  them,  all  combine  to  introduce 
some  disorder  into  their  spirits,  to  allure  or  surprise  them  to 
what  is  wrong,  and  to  array  them,  even  against  their  wills, 
4» 


4Si  SUFFICIENCY   AND   EFFICACY 

in  disobedience  to  God ;  yet,  over  this  fearful  combination, 
against  which  unassisted  man  might  combat  in  vain,  these 
men  of  faith  triumph.  "  God  hath  given  them  the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Faith,  where  its  domin- 
ion is  established  in  the  soul,  acts  like  some  superior  charm, 
to  quell  the  inferior  nature,  and  awe  the  rebellious  passions 
to  submission.  It  brings  up  to  them  the  image  of  the  glori- 
ous Master  to  whom  they  are  bound ;  of  the  holy  God,  who 
is  watching  that  he  may  judge  them;  of  the  future  world, 
whose  inheritance  depends  on  their  purity ;  and  of  all  the 
misery  and  horrors,  which  follow  in  the  train  of  unsubjected 
passion  and  voluntary  sin.  These  press  upon  their  minds 
with  united  and  intuitive  operation,  and  with  the  spontane- 
ous indignation  of  the  patriarch  they  put  the  temptation  to 
flight  with  the  cry,  "  How  can  I  do  this  great  wickedness, 
and  sin  against  God  1 " 

We  perceive,  then,  the  power  of  faith.  It  is  a  practical 
principle,  resting  on  the  basis  of  a  simple  truth.  It  is  a 
moral  principle,  swaying  the  affections  and  will ;  not  barely 
a  conviction  of  the  understanding,  but  a  feeling  persuasion, 
an  unwrought  sentiment  of  the  heart.  It  is  confidence, 
trust,  reliance,  on  one  who  has  divine  authority,  and  on 
whom  it  is  infinitely  for  our  interest  to  lean.  It  excludes 
from  the  mind  the  power  of  inferior  principles  and  motives, 
and  fortifies  it  against  the  attacks  of  external  calamity. 

We  may  learn  from  this,  ray  brethren,  how  to  try  and 
prove  our  own  faith,  and  when  to  be  satisfied  with  it.  We 
may  learn  not  to  estimate  its  value  by  the  number  of  prop- 
ositions of  which  it  is  compounded,  but  by  the  spirit  with 
which  we  embrnce  it,  and  the  power  it  exercises  over  us. 
The  question  is  not,  "  Do  we  lay  stress  on  a  multitude  of 
fundamental  articles  ?  Are  we  skilful  to  discriminate  the 
shades  of  difference  between  error  and  truth  upon  subjects 


OF    FAITH    IN    THE    MESSIAH.  43 

of  intricacy  and  controversy  ?  Do  we  love  to  be  occupied 
in  mysterious  musings,  and  to  be  involved  in  contemplation 
of  deep  and  perplexing  inquiries?"  These  are  not  the 
marks  of  a  saving  faith.  But  the  question  rather  is,  "  Have 
we  acknowledged  Jesus,  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  so  hear- 
tily, that  he  is  really  and  habitually  our  Master,  and  that 
his  authority  rules  and  controls  us  in  all  things  ?  so  that  this 
faith  works  by  love,  purifies  our  hearts,  and  overcomes  the 
world  ?  Is  it  the  parent  of  holy  desires,  pure  dispositions, 
good  living,  and  earnest  aspirations  after  the  excellence  and 
bliss  of  heaven?"  It  is  for  these  qualities  that  faith  is  valu- 
able. It  is  by  these  that  it  works  out  our  salvation.  It  is 
this  efRcacy  in  reforming,  purifying,  elevating,  spiritualizing 
the  human  character,  that  constitutes  the  glory  of  the  gos- 
pel. When  it  has  done  this,  it  has  accomplished  its  great 
work.  If  it  be  doing  this  for  us,  we  may  be  satisfied  that 
our  faith  is  neither  fatally  erroneous  nor  weak.  But  if  it 
be  pure  as  that  of  angels,  and  yet  do  not  display  this  moral 
power,  it  is  no  better  than  "  sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling 
cymbal." 


SERMON    IV 


JESUS  THE  MEDIATOR. 
1  TIMOTHY  II.  5. 

FOR    THERE   IS  ONE   GOD,   AND   ONE  MEDIATOR  BETWEEN   GOD  AND   MEN, 
THE   MAN  CHRIST  JESUS. 

There  are  few  passages  of  Scripture  in  which  a  doctrine 
is  expressed  more  distinctly  and  unequivocally  than  in  this. 
It  states,  in  terms  which  do  not  admit  of  misconstruction, 
the  great  fundamental  article  of  all  religion,  that  there  is 
"one  God;"  and  the  prime  truth  of  revealed  religion,  that 
there  is  "  one  Mediator  between  God  and  men."  It  speaks 
of  them  as  separate  beings,  distinct  in  nature,  diverse  in 
office,  and  not  to  be  confounded  together.  It  intimates  no 
mysterious  union  of  natures,  by  which  the  Mediator  is  God 
as  well  as  man,  and  the  supreme  Deity  is  mediator  between 
himself  and  his  creatures;  but  simply  declares  the  plain, 
intelligible  facts,  that  "  there  is  one  God,  and  one  Mediator 
between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus." 

The  apostle  is  thought  to  be  referring,  in  these  words,  to 
the  opinions  of  the  Jews,  to  whose  notions  and  feelings 
there  is  frequent  tacit  allusion  in  all  his  writings.  They 
prided  themselves  in  their  ancient  claim  to  be  God's  people; 
they  fancied  him  to  be  exclusively  their  God,  and  the  privi- 


JESUS    THE    MEDIATOR.  45 

leges  of  revelation  to  be  confined  to  themselves.  But  the 
apostle,  in  the  preceding  verses,  tells  them,  no  —  "  God  will 
liave  all  to  be  saved,"  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews,  "  and  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  ;  "  and  then  adds  in  our  text, 
that  to  Gentile,  as  well  as  Jew,  there  is  but  one  and  the 
same  God,  and  to  all  alike  one  and  the  same  Mediator. 
All  preference  and  distinction  is  now  done  away,  and  the 
cliosen  descendants  of  Israel  have  no  longer  any  privileges 
above  their  brethren  of  other  nations. 

But  we  have  le.«i9  concern  with  this  allusion  of  the  apostle 
than  with  the  great  truth  which  he  inculcates.  To  the 
whole  family  of  man  there  is  but  one  God  —  a  truth  once 
strange  and  heretical,  though  to  our  minds  so  familiar. 
However  separated  into  tribes,  however  distinct  in  history, 
character,  and  manners;  however  cast  asunder  by  the 
physical  boundaries  of  the  globe,  or  the  artificial  barriers 
of  st)ciety  ;  however  divided  by  interest  or  policy,  or  alien- 
ated by  traditionary  enmity  ;  still  the  bond  of  nature  con- 
nects them  together ;  they  have  one  Father,  and  one  God 
liith  created  them.  "  He  hath  formed  of  one  blood  all  that 
dwell  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  hath  appointed  the 
bounds  of  their  habitation."  They  have  not,  indeed,  recog- 
nized this  common  and  universal  Sovereign,  but  have 
bestowed  upon  others  the  honors  due  to  him  alone.  Super- 
stition and  folly  have  multiplied  the  objects  of  adoration, 
and  peopled  heaven,  and  earth,  and  sea,  with  peculiar  divin- 
ities. They  have  sometimes  bowed  down  to  the  host  of 
heaven,  and  sometimes  to  the  monsters  of  earth,  and  some- 
times to  the  workmanship  of  their  own  hands,  and  have 
warily  divided  their  worship  between  rival  gods.  But 
amidst  the  whole  may  be  heard  the  invariable  testimony  of 
nature,  that  the  true  object  of  all  adoration  is  but  One  — 
one,  infinite,  independent  mind  ;  the  origin  and  cause,  the 


46  JESUS    THE  *MEDIATOR. 

support  and  end,  of  all  other  beings  and  all  other  things. 
He  that  fashioned  the  resplendent  heavens,  and  rolled 
abroad  their  glorious  and  countless  worlds  of  light,  —  who 
moulded  the  beautiful  earth,  and  cast  forth  the  waters  of 
the  wonderful  sea,  and  peopled  all  with  their  innumerable 
tribes,  infinitely  diversified  in  structure,  in  powers,  and  in 
happiness,  —  is  One,  and  one  only.  "  Though  there  be  that 
are  called  gods,  whether  in  earth  or  in  heaven,  —  as  there 
are  gods  many  and  lords  many,  —  yet  to  us  there  is  but 
one  God,  the  Father,  of  whom  are  all  things,  and  we 
in  him." 

This  doctrine  of  the  divine  unity  is  essential  to  true  reli- 
gion. Erring  in  this,  the  pagan  nations  have  strayed  alike 
from  truth  and  from  morality  in  their  religion,  and  been  lost 
in  the  most  debasing  corruptions,  and  the  most  mischievous 
superstitions.  And  it  is  not  strange  that  it  should  have  been 
so;  for  the  moral  character  of  the  religion  and  of  the  wor- 
shipers will  be  conformed  to  that  of  the  object  of  worship  ; 
and  where  these  are  numerous,  some  of  them  must  be  bad. 
So  long  as  but  one  infinite  object  of  worship  is  acknowl- 
edged, right  reason  will  teach  that  he  must  be  all  present 
and  all  perfect ;  but  where  divinities  are  multiplied,  as  they 
cannot  all  be  perfect,  nor  all  exercise  the  same  jurisdiction, 
their  varieties  of  imperfection  will  of  course  give  counte- 
nance to  varieties  of  vice,  and  a  crowd  of  gods  afford  shelter 
to  a  crowd  of  sins.  So  it  has  proved  in  the  history  of  the 
world ;  vice  and  profligacy,  irreligion  and  impiety,  have 
increased  with  the  multiplication  of  objects  of  religious 
homage.  Among  the  chosen  people,  corruption  and  immo- 
rality crept  in  with  the  introduction  of  subordinate  divin- 
ities ;  and  all  the  vices,  which  in  so  great  measure  destroyed 
their  religious  character,  and  made  nugatory  the  power  of 
their  religious  law,  may  be  traced  to  the  demoralizing  influ- 
ence of  idolatry. 


JESUS   THE    MEDIATOR.  47 

Let  US,  then,  see  to  it  that  we  be  not  led,  under  any  form, 
or  any  pretence,  to  depart  from  tliis  great  principle.  It  has 
ever  been  found  the  oidy  true  basis  of  piety,  tlic  only  sulH- 
cient  security  of  virtue.  "  Beware  lest  any  man  spoil  you 
of  this,  by  philosophy  and  vain  deceit,  after  the  traditions 
of  men,  after  the  rudiments  of  the  world,  and  not  after 
Christ."  Be  jealous  over  this  with  a  godly  jealousy ;  re- 
membering that  the  first  of  all  the  commandments  is  ushered 
in  with  the  proclamation,  "  Hear,  O  Israel;  the  Lord  our 
God  is  one  Lord  !  "  and  that  our  Master,  in  solemn  prayer, 
has  made  the  declaration,  "  This  is  life  eternal,  to  know 
thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou 
hast  sent." 

And  who  is  Jesus  Christ,  whom  God  has  sent? 

The  doctrine  concerning  him  is  expressed  in  the  other 
clause  of  our  text  —  "  and  one  Mediator  between  God  and 
men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus." 

Observe  here  the  truth  of  that  divine  saying,  "  My 
thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my 
ways,  saith  the  Lord."  Men  have  imagined  that  they  could 
not  sufiiciently  multiply  the  objects  of  religious  adoration. 
But  in  tlio  simplicity  of  that  mighty  universe,  which  man's 
imagination  cannot  grasp,  there  is  but  one  such  object. 
Men  have  fancied  that  they  could  not  interpose  too  many 
friends  and  advocates  between  their  insignificance  and  the 
high  majesty  of  heaven  ;  they  have  crowded  the  access  with 
numberless  mediators  to  solicit  benediction  for  them,  and 
have  filled  churches,  and  altars,  and  cloisters  with  the  images 
of  saints  who  might  pray  for  them,  until  the  face  of  the 
great  Supreme  has  been  hidden,  and  their  dependence  on 
him  has  been  forgotten.  But  the  simplicity  of  God's  gov- 
ernment rejects  this  crowd  of  suitors,  whom  man  would 
thrust  forward  to  shelter  his   weakness,  and  appoints  one 


4S  JESUS   THE    MEDIATOR. 

Mediator  between  himself  and  his  offspring  —  one,  to  be  the 
medium  of  his  communications  to  them,  and  of  their  ap- 
proaches to  him.  There  is  One  on  the  throne,  and  One 
before  the  throne.  When  the  supplicant  draws  nigh,  his 
devotion  is  neither  doubtful  nor  distracted.  He  knows 
that  there  is  but  One  to  be  addressed ;  he  feels  that  there 
is  but  One  by  whom  he  may  obtain  access  ;  and  his  soul 
is  absorbed  in  a  single,  undivided  act  of  trust  and  praise. 

The  title  of  Mediator  is  in  four  several  passages  ascribed 
to  Jesus  in  the  New  Testament.  In  order  to  understand 
clearly  its  import,  we  must  consider  that  a  mediator  is  one 
who  acts  hcticccn  two  persons  or  parties.  He  is  the  medium 
between  them,  the  medium  of  intercourse  or  communica- 
tion. And  as  such  a  one,  among  men,  is  needed,  —  not  in 
the  ordinary  current  of  affairs,  but  on  occasions  of  differ- 
ence or  dissension,  — it  has  happened  that  the  name  is  most 
usually  given  in  the  sense  of  a  peace-maker ,  or  one  who 
effects  reconciliation.  In  this  sense  it  is  doubtless  applica- 
ble to  bur  Lord ;  for  one  important  object  of  his  mission 
and  religion  is,  to  reconcile  men  to  God ;  that  is,  to  render 
them  his  friends  by  doing  away  their  dislike  to  his  holy 
law,  and  uniting  them  to  him  in  love  and  obedience. 
Hence  God  is  said  "to  be  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world 
to  himself"  And  to  this  end  it  is  written,  "  It  pleased  the 
Father  that  in  him  should  all  fulness  dwell,  and,  having 
made  peace  by  the  blood  of  his  cross,  by  him  to  reconcile 
all  things  to  himself" 

It  is  not,  however,  in  this  sense  only,  but  in  a  more  ex- 
tended sense,  that  we  are  to  understand  this  title,  as  indi- 
cating, not  only  one  who  makes  peace,  but  one  who,  in  a 
general  sense,  is  the  medium  of  communication  between  God 
and  men.  This  is  the  meaning  which  the  word  bears  in 
the  New  Testament.     Thus    Paul  says,    speaking   of   the 


JESUS    THE    MEDIATOR.  49 

law,  (Gal.  iii.  19,)  "  It  was  ordained  by  angels,  in  the  hand 
of  a  mediator."  What  is  meant  by  Moses  being  thus  called 
the  mediator  of  the  law,  may  be  learned  from  his  own  lan- 
guage in  speaking  of  the  same  transaction,  (Deut.  v.  5,) 
"  I  stood  between  the  Lord  and  you  at  that  time,  to  show 
you  the  word  of  the  Lord."  *  In  this  instance  the  n.ime  is 
manifestly  given  him,  not  in  the  restricted  sense  of  a  peace- 
maker, but  in  that  of  his  being  the  medium  of  communica- 
tion.    In  no  other  sense  is  it  applied  to  Moses. 

It  is  obviously  in  the  same  sense  applied  to  Christ  in  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  (viii.  G,)  where  he  is  styled  "  the 
Mediator  of  a  better  covenant,  established  upon  better 
promises,"  than  that  of  Moses.  Now,  as  Moses  was  medi- 
ator of  the  ancient  covenant,  inasnmch  as  through  him  it 
was  communicated  to  the  people,  it  must  be  in  the  same 
sense  that  Jesus  is  called  the  "  Mediator  of  a  better  cov- 
enant." 

This  example  serves  to  define  and  settle  the  term  in  its 
application  to  our  Lord,  and  teaches  us  how  to  understand 
it  in  the  other  passages  in  which  it  occurs.  Thus,  when  the 
apostle  contrasts  the  mildness  of  the  new  dispensation  with 
the  terrors  which  accompanied  the  introduction  of  the  old, 
(Ileb.  xii.  24,)  he  mentions  "  Jesus,  the  Mediator  of  the 
new  covenant,"  evidently  as  the  chosen  messenger  of  love 
by  whom  it  was  brought. 

In  the  same  sense  we  are  to  understand  him,  (Ileb.  ix. 
15,)  where  he  speaks  of  the  Mediator  as  having  died  that 
he  might  certify  the  new  covenant,  and  render  it  "  of  force  ; " 
as  all  testaments,  he  adds,  are  required  to  be  ratified  with 
blood.     So  also  are  we  to  interpret  the  title  in  our  text.     It 

"  Hoc  est,  Eram  vceter  ^Tjair?;?,  interpres,  internuncius,  Dei   ad 
vos  Icgatua.     Schulz,  in  loc. 
5  . 


50  JESUS   THE    MEDIATOR. 

has  pleased  God  to  have  intercourse  with  his  creatures,  to 
establish  with  them  a  covenant,  and  pledge  to  them  his  prom- 
ises. He,  through  whose  instrumentality  this  is  done,  is 
for  that  reason  called  "  the  Mediator  between  God  and  men." 
"  The  law  came  by  Moses,"  who  was  thus  mediator  of  the 
old  covenant;  "  but  grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ," 
who  was  thus  mediator  of  the  new.  By  the  same  channel 
of  mediation  God  has  also  appointed  that  his  offspring  shall 
have  access  to  him,  through  him  "  come  to  the  Father,"  and 
"  in  his  name  "  address  their  praises  and  supplications.  "  I 
am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life ;  no  man  cometh 
unto  the  Father    but  by  me." 

There  are  thus  two  divisions  under  which  the  office  of 
mediator  presents  itself;  the  one  as  bringing  down  to  men 
the  messages  of  God,  the  other  as  bearing  up  to  God  the 
offerings  of  men. 

In  regard  to  the  first,  it  has  been  well  observed  by  a  pro- 
found and  celebrated  writer,  that  the  whole  system  of  the 
divine  administration  toward  man  is  a  system  of  mediation  ; 
and  that  the  mediatorial  office  of  Christ  is  therefore  analo- 
gous to  the  whole  economy  of  the  divine  dispensations. 
"  The  visible  government  which  God  exercises  over  the 
world   is  by  the  instrumentality  and  mediation  of  others." 

"  We  find  by  experience  that  God  does  appoint  mediators 
to  be  the  instruments  of  good  and  evil  to  us,  the  instruments 
of  his  judgment  and  his  mercy."  *  As  far  as  we  can  ob- 
serve, this  metliod  is  universal.  He  rules  his  creatures,  not 
by  speaking  to  them  with  his  own  voice,  not  by  touching 
them  with  his  own  finger,  but  through  the  medium  of  other 
beings  and  inferior  agents.  Men  are  created,  not  by  an 
express  and  direct  exertion  of  the  forming  power,  but  are 

**  Butler's  Analogy,  Part  II.  chap.  5. 


JESUS    THE    MLDIATOU.  51 

brouijlit  into  being  through  the  medium  of  parents.  Life  is 
supported,  not  by  the  immediate  energy  of  the  Ahnighty, 
but  by  the  subordinate  provisions  of  labor  and  food  ;  and 
this  food  is  sent  not  directly  from  God,  like  the  manna  in 
the  desert,  but  by  the  circuitous  operation  of  sunshine  and 
rain,  and  a  multitude  of  established  natural  causes.  VV^hen 
he  would  bless,  he  raises  up  human  benefactors  ;  when  he 
would  rebuke,  he  rouses  human  enemies.  He  bestowed  his 
favors  on  Israel  through  the  ministry  of  Moses,  Joshua, 
David,  and  Cyrus;  he  inflicted  punishment  for  their  crimes 
by  tiie  hands  of  the  Philistines,  the  Assyrians,  the  Babylo- 
nians, and  the  Romans. 

When,  therefore,  we  are  told  that,  in  the  affairs  of  salva- 
tion, there  is  a  "  Mediator  between  God  and  men,"  we  are 
taught  what  is  perfectly  coincident  with  the  uniform  metiiod 
of  divine  procedure;  we  behold  "a  beautiful  analogy,  in  a 
very  considerable  and  important  point,  between  the  settled 
metliod  of  God's  natural  providence  and  the  extraordinary 
operations  of  his  grace."  *  As  in  the  natural  so  in  the 
spiritual  world,  we  discern  the  agency  of  God  only  through 
the  action  of  second  causes.  We  behold  his  glory,  not  in 
its  own  essential  refulgence,  but  "  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ."  We  receive  "  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly 
things,"  through  Christ;  through  him  "come  grace  and 
truth  ;  "  through  him  "  is  the  kindness  of  God  toward  us;  " 
through  him  is  "  repentance  and  the  remission  of  sins," 
"peace  with  God,"  and  "the  gift  of  eternal  life."  In  a 
word,  whatever  we  have  received,  pertaining  to  life  and  god- 
liness, is  derived  to  us  from  God  through  him.  It  is  he, 
coming  from  God,  who  has  taught  us  all  that  we  know,  and 
made  certain  all  that  we  hope.     Except  in  him,  we  have  no 

*  James  Foster. 


52  JESUS    THE    MEDIATOR, 

provision  of  light  and  strength,  no  secure  principle  of  virtue, 
no  assurance  of  clemency  and  grace.  The  communications 
of  God  are  the  foundation  on  which  we  rest ;  and  they  have 
been  made  through  the  mediation  of  his  Son. 

The  second  division  of  this  doctrine  implies  that  Christ 
is  also  the  channel  through  which  men  are  to  hold  inter- 
course with  God.  "  As  all  the  distinguishing  spiritual  ben- 
efits which  we  enjoy  have  been  conferred  upon  us  through 
Christ,  so  our  services  and  sacrifices,  which  we  are  enabled 
to  perform  and  offer,  should  be  presented  to  God  the  Father 
in  and  through  him."  *  It  was  his  direction  to  the  apostles, 
that  they  should  ask  "  in  his  name."  The  apostles  enjoined 
it  on  the  churches  to  approach  God  in  praise  and  prayer, 
in  thanksgiving  and  confession,  "  through  him,"  "  by  him," 
and  "  in  his  name."  The  injunction  has  ever  been  ob- 
served ;  and  the  constant  devotions  of  believers  ascend  to 
God  through  Jesus  Christ.  They  come  to  the  mercy-seat, 
not  in  their  own  name,  but  in  that  of  the  Mediator,  and 
hope  to  be  heard  because  they  come  through  him. 

As  this  is  the  prescribed  and  familiar  form  of  prayer,  it 
is  important  to  understand  what  is  intended  by  it ;  since,  if 
we  would  have  it  done  acceptably,  it  must  be  done  intelli- 
gently. Let  us  inquire,  therefore,  what  is  implied  in  pray- 
ing "  through  Christ,"  or  "  in  the  name  of  Christ." 

It  is  not  intended,  we  may  first  of  all  remark,  that  we 
are  not  to  come  to  God  directly,  and  address  him  person- 
ally ;  but  quite  the  contrary.  "  Ye  shall  ask  me  nothing," 
said  our  Lord  ;  "  but  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in 
my  name,  he  will  give  it  you."  The  express  doctrine  of  his 
religion  is,  that  men  shall  address  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  only.     And  therefore  the  offering  of  prayers  through 

*  hardner  s  Sermon  on  John  xvi.  24. 


JESUS    THE    MEDIATOH.  63 

Christ  cannot  be  understood  to  mean  that  they  are  first  to 
be  presented  to  him,  and  by  him  presented  to  God.  All 
the  precepts  and  examples  of  Scripture  direct  us  to  God 
himself,  personally ;  and  the  phrase  in  question,  as  we  shall 
presently  see,  bears  a  meaning  which  does  not  contradict 
them. 

Neither  are  we  to  understand  it  as  forbidding  all  acts  of 
worship  in  which  this  form  of  words  is  not  used.  For  we 
hive  repeated  instances  of  both  ascriptions  and  supplica- 
tions by  the  apostles,  in  which  this  form  does  not  appear. 

It  is  the  principle  on  which  our  devotions  are  framed,  and 
the  spirit  in  which  they  are  uttered,  rather  than  any  verbal 
or  formal  exactness,  which  these  scriptural  directions  enjoin. 
The  sacred  writers  express  little  solicitude  about  the  mere 
form  of  prayer. 

Neither  are  we  to  understand,  by  prayer  through  Christ, 
that  we  are  to  ask  to  have  our  desires  granted  "  for  the  sake 
of  Christ;"  for  this  is  an  expression  without  authority  or 
warrant  in  the  holy  volume.  The  expression  is  once  found 
in  our  version  in  connection  with  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
which  God  is  said  to  have  granted  "  for  Christ's  sake." 
This,  however,  is  an  acknowledged  mistranslation  of  the 
original  word.  It  should  be,  as  in  all  other  passages  relat- 
ing to  this  subject,  in  or  through  Christ.*  To  ask  in 
prayer y'or  Christ's  sake,  is  without  example  or  authority  in 
the  sacred  writings,  and  is  a  very  different  thing  from  ask- 
ing t/irough  Christ. 

In  what  sense,  then,  is  this  form  of  words  to  be  under- 
stood ? 

A  little  examination  will  satisfy  us  that  it  is  in  this  :  We 
are  to  pray   as  the  disciples  of  Christ,  guided   by   faith  in 


*  Eph.  iv.  32,  •>•  Xoioiw. 


64  JESUS    THE    MEDIATOR, 

him,  and  influenced  by  the  devout  dispositions  which  he 
requires;  "through  him,"  because  through  the  directions 
he  has  given  for  acceptable  prayer,  and  the  encouragement 
he  has  offered  to  sincere  worshipers ;  "  in  his  name,"  be- 
cause by  his  authority,  confiding  in  his  warrant,  commanded 
and  invited  by  him,  members  of  that  family  wliich  he  ha3 
brought  nigh  to  God,  and  given  access  to  the  throne. 

That  this  is  the  general  sense  of  these  expressions,  will 
be  rendered  obvious  by  observing  how  they  are  used  in 
other  instances. 

The  Levites  blessed  the  people,  and  Israel  went  out  to 
battle,  "  in  the  name  of  the  Lord;  "  that  is,  very  evidently, 
by  his  authority  and  direction,  by  faith  in  him.  The  proph- 
ets spake  "in  the  name  of  the  Lord;"  and  our  Savior 
says,  "  I  am  come  in  my  Father's  name  ;  "  plainly  meaning, 
by  his  authority  and  direction,  receiving  from  him  their 
commission.  So  the  apostles  preached  and  wrought  mir- 
acles "  in  the  name  of  Jesus;  "  by  his  authority,  under  his 
commission,  by  faith  in  him.  So  they  commanded  the 
believers  "  to  do  all  things  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus; " 
that  is,  in  compliance  with  his  authority,  and  conformably 
to  the  spirit  of  his  religion.  To  pray  "  in  his  name,"  is 
one  of  the  things  they  were  to  do,  and  must  have  a  similar 
interpretation.  It  is  to  pray  by  his  authority,  according  to 
his  instructions,  by  faith  in  him,  in  the  character  and  with 
the  spirit  of  his  disciples. 

It  is  not  uncommon  in  the  Scriptures  to  use  the  name 
of  a  person  for  his  doctrine  or  religion.  Thus  it  is  said, 
"  Moses  is  preached  every  Sabbath  day  ;"  meaning  the  reli- 
gion of  Moses.  "  We  preach  Christ,"  meaning  the  religion 
of  Christ.  We  are  said  "  to  put  on  Christ,"  "  to  be  in 
Christ,"  "  to    profess   Christ,"  and    a    multitude  of  similar 


JESUS    THE    MEDIATOR.  Oo 

phrases ;  by  which  is  intended  that  we  are  to  embrace,  to 
adopt,  to  profess,  the  religion  of  Christ.  So,  also,  in  the 
instance  of  prayer  through  Christ,  we  may  understand 
throu<^h  his  religion, or  doctrine:  since  it  is  entirely  through 
the  influence  of  his  religion,  its  instructions,  directions,  en- 
couragements, and  promises,  that  we  are  enabled  to  worship 
God  acceptably.  It  is  these  which  prepare  our  minds,  and 
lead  us  to  the  mercy-seat.  We  approach,  because  the 
instructions  which  Jesus  has  given,  and  on  which  our  faith 
relies,  guide  us  thither  ;  that  is  to  say,  as  before,  we  come 
as  his  disciples,  tinder  his  authority,  and  by  faith  in  him. 
It  is  this  coming  in  the  character  of  his  disciples  which 
gives  us  hope  that  we  shall  be  heard  ;  and  this  hope  or 
expectation  is  well  founded,  just  in  proportion  as  we  are 
truly  his  disciples,  and  pray  fervently  in  his  faith.  There  is 
no  charm  in  the  words,  no  talisman  in  the  forms  we  utter, 
no  mysterious  eflicacy  by  which  they  force  their  way  up- 
ward, from  whatever  heart  they  may  rise.  We  might  as 
well  pray  in  the  name  of  Mahomet,  as  in  that  of  Christ,  if 
we  do  not  pray  as  disciples  of  Christ  —  not  nominally  and 
outwardly,  but  heartily  and  consistently,  as  his  disciples.  It 
is  in  this  circumstance  that  we  are  to  trCist,  and  not  in  the 
belief  that  Jesus  seconds  every  prayer,  and  carries  it  to  the 
Father.  For  he  expressly  says,  "  Ye  shall  ask  in  my  name ; 
and  I  say  not  unto  you,  that  I  will  pray  the  Father  for  you  ;  " 
that  is,  it  is  not  from  this  circumstance  that  you  are  to  take 
encouragement ;  you  are  not  to  depend  for  acceptance  on 
my  intercession;  —  and  he  adds,  "For  my  Father  himself 
loveth  you,  because  ye  have  loved  me,  and  have  believed 
(hat  I  came  out  from  God."  Here  he  states  availing  prayer 
in  his  name  to  be  that  which  comes  from  those  who  love 
him,  and  have  faith  in  him  ;  that  is,  from  his  disciples ;   not 


56  JESUS   THE    MEDIATOR. 

that  which  trusts  for  acceptance  to  his  interposition  only ; 
for  fully  as  that  intercession  may  be  offered  for  the  faithful, 
it  is  nowhere  promised  to  the  insincere.  So  also  says  the 
apostle  John,  "  Whatsoever  we  ask  we  receive  of  him, 
because  we  keep  his  commandments,  and  do  those  things 
which  are  pleasing  in  his  sight ; "  which  likewise  conducts 
us  to  the  same  conclusion  —  that  prayer,  in  the  consistent 
character  of  disciples,  is  that  prayer  in  his  name  which 
meets  acceptance  and  blessing. 

In  this  sense  it  is  that  the  mediation  of  Christ  opens  the 
way  of  access  to  God.  And  in  this  doctrine,  as  there  is 
evidently  an  admonition  for  the  presumptuous,  so  there  is 
encouragement  for  the  humble  and  distrustful.  For  how 
abundantly  have  the  instructions,  the  aids,  the  invitations  of 
a  kind  and  compassionate  God  been  spread  forth,  to  make 
the  way  to  his  mercy-seat  accessible  and  free,  and  to  remove 
all  impediments  which  might  obstruct  or  alarm.  How  gra- 
ciously has  the  Mediator  toiled,  how  earnestly  entreated, 
how  willingly  suffered,  that  the  path  of  promise  might  not 
be  hidden,  and  that  none  of  God's  offspring  might  leave  the 
way  of  life  for  lack  of  a  cheering  voice  or  an  assisting  arm! 
So  eminently  is  the  gospel  a  system  of  grace  !  And  O, 
with  what  devout  gratitude  should  we  contemplate  this  evi- 
dence of  it !  Weak,  ignorant,  sinful,  in  our  best  desires 
and  purest  offerings,  and  therefore  oftentimes  dreading  to 
approach  directly  to  Him  who  is  infinitely  pure,  and  "  cannot 
look  on  sin,"  how  consoling  is  it  to  know,  that  there  is  one 
to  offer  encouragement  and  hope,  and  lead  us  tenderly  by 
the  hand  to  our  Father's  feet ;  one  who  himself  has  shared 
our  infirmities,  and  can  therefore  pity  them ;  who  has  him- 
self borne  our  weakness,  and  endured  temptations,  though 
without  sin  ;   and  who,  gentle  and  forbearing,  "  breaks  not 


JESUS    THE    .MEDIATOR.  57 

tlie  bruised  reed,  nor  quenches  tlie  smoking  flax,"  and  utters 
no  accents  to  the  humble  and  believing,  but  those  of  en- 
couragement and  peace ! 

Brethren,  let  us  remember  this  in  our  prayers ;  let  us  be 
irnboldened  and  consoled  by  it  in  our  apprehensions  and 
despondency.  "  Seeing  that  we  have  this  great  High  Priest, 
Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  let  us  hold  fast  our  profession,  and 
come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  obtain 
mercy,  aiid  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need." 


SERMON    V 


JESUS  THE  SAVIOR. 

MATTHEW  I.  21. 

AND  THOU  SHALT  CALL  HIS  NAME   JESUS  ;  FOR  HE  SHALL  SAVE   HIS 
PEOPLE   FROM  THEIR  SINS. 

It  was  a  custom  among  the  Israelites,  of  which  frequent 
examples  are  recorded  in  their  sacred  books,  to  bestow  upon 
their  children  significant  names,  intimating  either  the  feel- 
ings of  the  parent,  or  the  circumstances  of  the  birth,  or  the 
character  and  destiny  of  the  offspring.  Such  are  all  the 
names  in  the  patriarchal  history ;  some  of  which,  as  those 
of  Israel  and  Sarah,  were  changed  in  commemoration  of 
some  epoch  in  their  lives,  or  to  mark  their  altered  fortunes. 
It  is  further  observable,  respecting  this  custom,  that  the 
name  was  often  framed  by  a  combination  of  one  of  the 
names  of  God.  Thus  Isaiah  means  the  salvation  of  the 
Lord ;  Elisha,  salimtion  of  God;  Elijah,  God  the  Lord,  or 
the  strong  Lord;  Elihu,  he  is  my  God  himself;  Lemuel, 
God  with  thrm ;  and  a  child,  given  as  a  pledge  of  deliver- 
ance to  Judah  in  the  reign  of  Ahaz,  was  called  Immanuel, 
\.\ni\s,  God  with  us.  As  this  prophecy  was  also  applied  to 
the  Messiah,  he  is  on  that  occasion  once  called  Immauud ; 
intimatincr  that,  by  his  residence  among  men,  the  presence 


JESUS    THE    SAVIOR.  59 

of  God  would  be  particularly  manifest.  There  can  be  no 
ground,  then,  for  the  opinion,  that  this  name  implies  a  divine 
nature  in  Jesus,  as  if  the  very  God,  literally  and  personally, 
came  to  abide  with  us.  For,  as  we  see,  this  application  of 
the  name  of  God  to  men  was  a  common  thirjg ;  and  if 
Christ's  being  once  called  Immanud  could  argue  that  he 
was  truly  God,  a  man's  being  always  called  Elijah,  Elihu,  or 
Lemuel,  would  no  less  certainly  prove  him  to  be  truly  God. 
It  was  in  liis  case,  as  in  the  others,  a  significant  name,  and 
not  an  assertion  of  personal  divinity. 

The  name  Jesus  is  also  one  of  appropriate  significancy. 
It  means  Savior.  It  intimates  the  deliverance  which  he 
was  sent  to  accomplish.  It  designates  the  sense  in  which 
he  was  to  bless  the  world.  Thus  his  very  name  is  a  memo- 
rial of  his  oflice ;  so  that  we  cannot  speak  of  him  without 
l>eing  reminded  both  of  the  honor  which  he  had  from  God, 
and  tiie  blessing  which  he  brought  to  men.  We  call  him 
Christ,  the  anointed  of  God ;  Jesus,  the  Savior  of  mm. 

It  is  in  the  character  of  a  Savior  that  we  are  to  consider 
him  at  this  time;  in  doing  which,  we  may  follow  the  sug- 
gestion of  our  text,  and  inquire,  under  three  heads, 

1.  Whom  he  is  to  save; 

2.  From  what  he  is  to  save ; 

3.  How  he  is  to  save; 

Or,  in  other  words,  we  shall  speak  of  the  subjects,  the 
nature,  and  the  method  of  the  salvation  which  he  came  to 
effect. 

1.  We  are  to  consider  trhom  he  is  to  save.  Our  text 
says,  "  He  shall  save  his  people."  Who  are  to  be  under- 
stood  by  this  designation  ? 

If  we  reflect  for  a  moment  on  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  Messiali  came,  we  shall  perceive  that  the  Jewish 
nation  is  primarily  intended.     This  had  been  eminently  dis- 


GO  JESUS   THE    SAVIOR. 

tinguished  as  God's  people,  having  enjoyed  for  ages  the 
peculiar  manifestations  of  liis  favor.  Prophets  from  God 
had  spoken  of  the  time  when  his  grace  should  visit  them 
with  yet  higher  glory,  in  a  prince  and  deliverer  of  the  house 
of  David,  whose  splendid  reign  was  always  described  in 
closest  connection  with  their  destinies.  To  them,  accord- 
ingly, his  mission  was  addressed.  He  came  not  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, but  to  the  lost  sheep  of  Israel.  Among  them,  and  for 
them,  his  personal  labors  were  devoted.  For  them  his 
prayers  and  tears  were  given  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life. 
It  was  only  when  they  had  rejected  his  gospel  with  incurable 
obstinacy,  that  his  apostles  were  directed  to  carry  its  mes- 
sage to  other  nations.  "  It  was  necessary,"  as  Paul  said, 
"  that  this  word  of  God  should  first  be  spoken  to  them." 
It  was  therefore  fitting  that  he  should  be  announced  as  the 
Savior  of  "  his  people  ;  "  and  this  the  rather,  as  their  de- 
liverance, which  was  the  first  object,  shall  be  the  final  effect 
of  his  ministry.  That  alienated  and  broken  family  shall 
be  brought  back  to  its  inheritance,  and  "  all  Israel  be 
saved." 

This,  however,  is  not  a  sufiicient  answer  to  our  inquiry ; 
for  salvation  is  not  confined  to  this  people.  We  accord- 
ingly find  it  written,  that  "  he  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost."  Who  are  intended  by  this  term?  How 
lost  ?  By  what  means,  and  in  what  way,  lost  ?  The  answer 
is,  lost  in  sin ;  strayed  away  from  obedience  and  goodness  ; 
lost  therefore  to  happiness.  As  the  younger  son,  who  de- 
parted from  his  father's  house,  and  became  a  wretched  vag- 
abond in  a  strange  land,  is  on  that  account  described  as 
"  lost,"  so  they  who  have  forsaken  God's  paternal  presence 
and  serviQe,  and  lived  in  thoughtless  and  vicious  habits  of 
disobedience,  till  the  peace  of  virtue  is  gone,  and  the  misery 
of  sin  overtakes  them,  are  also  said  to  be  "  lost."     And  how 


JESUS   THE    SAVIOR.  (il 

truly  said !  lost  to  duty,  and  therefore  to  happiness !  lost, 
tlieir  peace  of  mind,  their  serenity  of  conscience,  honor, 
comfort,  and  hope ;  strangers  to  liis  presence  who  made 
tliem  ;  rebels  against  his  grace  who  loves  them;  and  —  if 
they  will  not  arise  and  come  to  their  Father,  who  is  ready 
to  welcome  their  returning  and  contrite  steps  —  perishing 
with  the  famine  of  the  soul,  and  lost  forever.  These  are 
the  objects  of  the  Savior's  compassionate  search.  "  This 
is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that 
Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners." 

lie  is  also  said  to  be  "  the  Savior  of  the  world."  For 
the  world  it.self  was  lost.  The  knowledge  and  worship  of 
the  true  God  was  gone  from  it.  Men  groped  after  the  way 
of  acceptance  and  truth,  but  could  not  find  it.  Religion, 
the  true  mistress  of  human  virtue  and  happiness,  had  been 
thrust  aside,  and  bloody  Superstition  and  impure  Idolatry 
reigned  in  her  stead.  "  Darkness  covered  the  earth,  and 
gross  darkness  the  people,"  and  sin  and  misery  ruled  tri- 
umphant over  the  world  which  God  had  formed  for  happi- 
ness and  goodness.  Then  it  was  that  "the  Father  sent  the 
Son  to  be  the  Savior  of  the  world"  —  sunk,  as  it  was,  in 
hopeless  corruption,  from  which  human  wisdom  had  .striven 
to  raise  it  in  vain.  It  was  an  object  alone  worthy  of  divine 
interposition.  If  mankind  had  been  incorrupt  in  religion  and 
morals,  there  had  been  no  occasion  for  a  special  messen- 
ger from  heaven,  no  necessity  for  his  supernatural  light,  for 
his  instructions  in  righteousness,  for  the  motives  to  repent- 
ance which  he  furnished,  for  the  solemn  warnings  which  he 
published,  for  the  holy  promises  which  he  proclaimed,  for 
the  offers  of  pardon  which  he  brought.  Men  might  have 
been  ignorant  and  barbarous,  and  subjected  to  all  the 
miseries  of  this  transitory  state ;  yet  if  they  had  been  holy, 
worshipers  of  God,  righteous  among  men,  where  could 
6 


62  JESUS    THE    SAVIOK. 

have  been  the  call  for  the  labors  and  sacrifices  of  an  ambas- 
sador of  God  ?  It  was  only  because  the  world  was  lying  in 
wickedness,  and  men  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  that 
God  sent  forth  his  Son  with  the  dispensation  of  truth  and 
grace.  And  to  whom  was  this  dispensation  addressed  ? 
To  all  that  have  need  of  it ;  to  all  that  are  "  lost ;  "  to  "  the 
world;  "  to  all  men.  There  is  no  exception,  no  limitation. 
The  gracious  proclamation  speaks  indiscriminately  to  all, 
and  offprs  a  rich,  impartial,  unbounded  provision  for  the 
guidance  and  redemption  of  the  world. 

2.  We  were  to  consider,  in  the  next  place,  the  nature  of 
this  salvation,  or  from  what  Jesus  is  to  save.  "  He  shall 
save  his  people  from  their  sins." 

This  is  in  perfect  conformity  with  the  remarks  already 
made.  The  great  root  of  evil  and  wretchedness  is  sin^  and 
its  prevalence  is  the  only  cause  which  renders  a  Savior 
necessary.  Freedom  from  sin  is  freedom  from  all  essential 
ill.  With  this,  also,  the  language  of  Scripture  strikingly 
corresponds.  It  represents  salvation  to  consist  in  the  re- 
moval of  sin  and  its  consequences,  and  the  substitution  in 
its  place  of  holiness,  with  its  happy  consequences  and  last- 
ing rewards.  Jesus  came  "  to  put  away  sin ;  "  "  to  give 
repentance  and  remission  of  sins  ; "  "  to  bless  in  turning 
away  every  one  from  his  iniquities ;  "  "  to  redeem  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous 
of  good  works."  This  is  the  constant  language  of  the 
New  Testament,  which  no  man  can  read  without  the  per- 
suasion that  a  moral  regeneration,  a  deliverance  from  the 
power  of  sin,  and  perfection  in  purity  and  holiness,  is  the 
purpose  to  be  etfected  by  tlie  gospel ;  that  in  this  consists 
its  salvation,  commencing  upon  earth,  and  consunnnated  in 
the  glory  and  bliss  of  eternity. 

A  strict  adherence  to  the  language  of  the  Scriptures  on 


JESUS    THE    SAVIOR. 


6^ 


this  point  will  keep  us  from  the  error  of  imagining  that  the 
evil  from  which  Jesus  saves  is  the  curse  of  man's  original 
condition,  the  fearful  destiny  in  which  he  is  involved  by 
nature.  Now,  it  is  not  only  perfectly  inconceivable  that  a 
benevolent  being  should  have  subjected  his  creatures  to 
such  a  mi-serable  fate  i)rior  to  their  sinning,  or  even  to  their 
existing ;  but,  which  is  more  to  the  purpose,  the  sacred 
writers  perpetually  teach  that  the  misery  to  be  saved  from 
is  that  of  sin,  not  of  natural  condition;  that  the  wrath  to  be 
escaped  is  that  which  visits  their  own  transgressions,  not 
that  which  awaits  them  because  they  are  men,  or  to  which 
they  are  naturally  subjected.  They  speak  of  no  evil  prior 
to  or  greater  than  that  of  sin.  They  speak  of  no  curse 
antecedent  to  this,  or  independent  of  it.  And  they  propose 
to  save  fronj  this  as  the  grand,  the  essential,  the  all-com- 
prehensive ill,  leading  to  infinite  consequences  of  wretched- 
ness and  despair. 

We  are  very  ready  to  suppose  that  the  work  of  redemp- 
tion is  some  expedient  for  getting  rid  of  the  punishment 
due  to  sin  —  as  if  that  were  of  all  things  the  most  to  be  de- 
sired ;  and  thence  we  are  easily  led  to  persuade  ourselves 
that  we  may  so  take  advantage  of  the  work  which  has  been 
wrought  as  to  escape  the  punishment,  though  we  may  not 
have  relinquished  the  sin.  Thus,  to  avoid  the  penalty,  and 
yet  enjoy  the  transgression,  has  always  been  a  chief  object 
of  false  religions;  and  men  would  fain  believe  that  it  has 
been  accomplished  in  the  true.  But  let  us  not  be  deceived. 
No  such  preposterous  compromise  has  been  made.  It  is 
inconsistent  with  all  that  we  have  been  taught,  either  by 
experience  or  religion.  For  what  says  experience?  The 
penalty  of  sin  often  continues  to  visit  the  sinner  long  after 
he  has  repented  and  reformed.  The  impiety,  indiscretion, 
and  vices  of  youth,  for  example,  are  followed  with  sufferino- 


64  JESUS   THE    SAVIOR. 

and  shame  through  life,  and  burden  the  memory  with  bitter 
thoughts  as  long  as  reflection  lives.  But  it  would  not  be 
so  if  the  grand  design  were  simply  to  provide  an  escape 
from  punishment,  or  to  devise  some  means  of  abolishing  it. 
In  this  case,  all  such  suffering  must  have  been  done  away 
at  once.  Let  us  not,  then,  be  deceived.  Even  the  assurance 
of  pardon  is  no  assurance  that  the  consequences  of  trans- 
gression shall  be  altogether  removed.  For  what  says  the 
Scripture?  "  Thou  wast  a  God  that  forgavest  them,  though 
thou  tookest  vengeance  on  their  iniquities." 

And  if  we  inquire  of  religion,  as  taught  either  by  nature 
or  by  revelation,  what  is  it,  in  strict  truth,  which  God 
designs  especially  to  promote  by  his  government  and  his 
dispensations  ?  Happiness  ?  Yes,  unquestionably.  But 
how  ?  Happiness  only  1  at  any  rate  ?  of  any  description  ? 
If  so,  there  were  no  need  of  laws  and  restraints,  and  moral 
means,  and  institutions  of  discipline  and  instruction;  for  he 
might  by  the  arbitrary  appointments  of  his  will  lavish  it 
abundantly  on  liis  creatures.  But  surely  it  is  not  so. 
Being  a  holy  God,  whose  abhorrence  of  sin  is  equal  to  his 
desire  of  happiness,  and  in  whose  view  there  is  no  true 
happiness  where  there  is  riot  holiness,  he,  therefore,  makes 
holiness  the  primary  object  of  his  government,  and  the 
moral  perfection  of  his  offspring  the  favorite  purpose  of 
his  dispensations.  Nothing  will  answer  in  the  place  of  this. 
.  He  cannot  be  satisfied  by  some  plausible  device  for  remit- 
ting punishment,  nor  by  shifting  it  off  upon  some  other  than 
the  transgressor,  nor  even  by  arbitrarily  excluding  all  suf- 
fering from  his  universe.  It  is  not  suffering,  but  sin,  wliich 
he  would  exterminate  ;  lie  could  esteem  no  salvation  accom- 
plished for  his  children,  until  this  principle  of  all  evil  is 
itself  utterly  eradicated. 

Let  us  not,  then,  be  deceived  in  regard  to  the  nature  of 


JESUS   THE    SAVIOR.  fi6 

this  salvation.  It  is  not  the  abolition  of  punishment,  but  of 
sin.  As  when  a  man  is  saved  from  a  disease,  it  is  by  re- 
moving the  disease,  —  that  is,  by  curing  him  of  it,  —  so  he  is 
saved  from  his  sins  by  being  rid  of  them.  It  would  avail 
little  to  deliver  the  sick  man  from  his  pangs,  if  his  disorder 
were  still  unrelieved,  and  bearing  him  down  imperceptibly 
to  the  grave;  and  it  would  avail  little  to  deliver  the  sinner 
from  punishment,  and  the  sufferings  which  follow  in  the 
train  of  vice,  if  his  evil  dispositions  were  left  unrebuked ; 
for  while  he  remains  a  moral  being,  he  may  choose  for 
himself  what  happiness  he  pleases ;  yet  if  he  cannot  relish 
that  of  virtue,  he  will  find  no  content.  Let  his  fetters  be 
stricken  off,  let  the  fire  be  quenched,  and  the  gnawing 
worm  be  dead  ;  open  to  him  the  rich  paradise  of  heaven, 
and  give  him  place  among  tlie  obedient  and  holy  worship- 
ers around  the  throne  of  God ;  yet  if  he  have  not  been 
redeemed  from  sin,  nor  his  affections  reclaimed  from  its 
love,  there  is  no  beauty  nor  bliss  for  him  there ;  but  he 
wanders  among  them  a  discontented  stranger,  self-torment- 
ing and  solitary,  without  companion,  enjoyment,  or  home; 
his  depraved  habits  and  corrupted  taste  rendering  insipid 
and  loathsome  the  light  and  felicity  of  eternity. 

3.  We  were  to  consider,  in  the  third  place,  the  manner 
in  which  this  salvation  is  effected;  or  hotv  Jesus  saves 
from  sin. 

The  main  point  to  be  insisted  upon  under  this  hend  is, 
that  the  character  of  the  means  must  be  conformable  to 
that  of  the  end  to  be  gained.  The  end  to  be  gained,  as  we 
have  just  seen,  is  a  moral  salvation.  Our  Lord  must  con- 
scqiiently  have  employed  moral  means.  The  mi.sery  from 
which  man  is  to  be  delivered,  originates  in  and  depends 
upon  the  wrong  state  of  his  mind  and  affections.  It  is  to 
be  removed,  it  can  be  removed,  by  no  arbitrary  appoint- 
G* 


66  JESUS   THE    SAVIOR. 

ments  of  place  or  condition,  by  no  exertion  of  absolute 
power,  like  the  striking  off  of  chains  at  a  blow.  It  can  be 
only  by  the  operation  of  spiritual  and  moral  remedies, 
suited  to  the  spiritual  and  moral  malady,  which  shall  act 
gradually  on  the  spirit,  and  restore  it  to  health,  vigor,  and 
virtue. 

The  Christian  dispensation  is  a  provision  of  means  for  the 
regeneration  of  free,  intelligent,  voluntary  agents,  existing 
in  a  state  of  probation.  Now,  it  is  essential  to  the  nature 
of  such  beings,  in  such  a  state,  that  they  be  subjected  to  a 
moral  government,  and  be  influenced  through  a  moral  pro- 
cess. If  it  were  otherwise,  then  He  who  desires  the  salva- 
tion of  all,  and  has  evinced  that  desire  by  the  costly  appa- 
ratus of  his  dispensations  from  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
need  only  to  have  spoken  the  word,  and  all  would  have  been 
changed  at  once  into  holy  and  happy  beings.  Eut  this  has 
not  been  done,  because  it  would  be  inconsistent  with  their 
very  nature ;  would  defeat  the  very  purpose  of  probation ; 
would  put  an  end  to  their  moral  agency,  and  convert  them 
into  merely  mechanical  instruments,  incapable  of  either 
choosing  or  attaining  virtue.  Designing,  therefore,  to  treat 
them  agreeably  to  the  nature  which  he  has  bestowed  upon 
them,  and  which  he  would  not  change  nor  contradict,  he 
has  instituted  corresponding  means  of  salvation.  He  has 
not  sent  his  Son  to  touch  them  with  a  wand,  to  re-create 
them  by  some  inexplicable  and  unparticipated  operation, 
like  a  spell  or  charm ;  but  to  "  sanctify  them  through  the 
truth,"  to  "justify  them  through  faith,"  to  regenerate 
them  "  by  the  word  of  God." 

It  is  plain,  then,  that  there  is  nothing  either  arbitrary  or 
compulsory  in  the  gospel  dispensation,  j  Sidvation  is  offered 
to  men,  but  not  forced  upon  them.  It  is  left  to  depend 
upon  the  use  which  is  made  of  those  privileges  and  aids 


rtSPS   THE   SAVIOR.  67 

\«rhich  the  grace  of  God  has  bestowed.  It  is  thus  entirely 
conditional.  It  is  dependent  on  every  man's  free  choice. 
If  lie  will  go  into  the  ark,  lo,  it  is  open,  and  there  is  room 
enough  ;  but  he  is  not  compelled  to  go  in.  The  waters  of 
life  flow  by  him  in  copious  and  inviting  streams ;  if  he  will 
come  and  take  them,  he  shall  live  forever;  but  let  him  act 
his  own  pleasure;  there  is  no  constraint.  The  table  of 
heaven  is  spread,  and  urgent  invitations  are  sent  abroad, 
and  a  joyous  welcome  awaits  those  who  will  be  guests.  But 
it  rests  with  themselves  to  accept  or  refuse.  Jesus  has 
thrown  wide  the  doors  of  everlasting  day,  and  poured  a 
strong  light  on  the  true  path  of  peace.  He  has  placed  him- 
self at  its  entrance,  to  invite,  and  urge,  and  warn  men  — 
by  their  allegiance  to  God,  by  the  miseries  of  their  present 
condition,  by  the  welfare  of  their  souls,  by  the  inconceiv- 
able glories  of  heaven  —  to  pursue  the  way  of  holiness  and 
life.  He  has  offered  them  guidance,  direction,  aid,  and 
blessing.  They  need  but  come  to  him,  and  they  shall 
have  life.  - 

It  is  thus  that  salvation  is  by  grace.  Grace  provides  the 
mrnns.  Sinful  and  undeserving  man,  by  an  act  of  essential 
benignity,  by  the  unmerited  favor  of  divine  love,  is  put  in 
the  condition  to  escape  from  sin,  and  reach  the  bliss  of 
heaven.  It  is  a  general  provision  for  the  human  race ;  not 
a  plan  for  the  recovery  of  a  selected  few,  nor  a  favor  be- 
stowed upon  individuals  ;  but  an  impartial  offer  of  mercy  to 
all  —  which  offer  having  been  made,  and  the  opportunity 
having  been  given,  each  one  is  then,  separately,  to  "  work 
out  his  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling."!  The  grace 
of  God  makes  the  most  ample  and  munificent  provision, 
even,  as  it  were,  tlie  wings  of  an  angel  for  his  flight  up- 
ward ;  but  if  he  will  not  stretch  them  and  rise,  it  sends 
down  no  chariot  of  fire  to  bear  away  his  reluctant  soul. 


68  JEStrS   THE   SAVIOR. 

I  do  not  know  that  this  portion  of  the  subject  needs  fur- 
ther illustration  ;  but  we  may  readily  find  it  by  recurring 
to  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  expressions 
which  are  applied  to  the  Christian  salvation  were  also  ap- 
plied to  the  deliverance  of  the  Israelites  from  bondage  in 
Egypt.  They  were  said  to  be  "redeemed"  and  "saved," 
and  the  name  given  to  their  leader  into  Canaan  was  that  of 
Savior.  Joshua  is  the  same  name  as  Jesus.  Now  that 
people  were  "saved"  and  "redeemed"  through  the  mi- 
raculous means  of  salvation  which  God  with  a  strong  hand 
brought  to  them,  and  by  their  using  those  means  according 
to  his  commandments.  He  redeemed  them,  not  by  literally 
paying  any  ransom  to  their  masters,  nor  by  providing  sub- 
stitutes in  their  stead,  nor  by  offering  in  any  way  an  equiv- 
alent for  their  service ;  but  by  opening  for  them  a  way  of 
escape,  through  which  they  might  pass  to  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence, and  guiding  them  in  it  by  his  presence  and 
power.  So  does  he  save  us  through  Jesus  Christ  —  by 
opening  to  us  a  free  path  of  escape  from  sin  and  misery, 
and  guiding  and  aiding  us  in  it,  through  the  perils  of  life,  to 
our  heavenly  home.  These  cases  illustrate  one  another. 
In  each  the  gracious  power  of  God  opened  the  way  and 
provided  the  means ;  and  in  each,  man  must  walk  in  the 
way  and  use  the  means ;  else,  instead  of  inheriting  the 
blessing,  he  perishes  in  the  wilderness. 

But  what  are  the  means  of  salvation  which  Jesus  has 
thus  instituted  ?  They  are,  in  one  word,  the  revelation 
which  he  lias  made  of  the  doctrines  and  promises  of  true 
religion,  and  whatever  provision  exists  for  perpetuating  and 
promoting  its  influence.  Divine  truth  is  the  great  instru- 
ment of  regeneration  and  sanctification.  Every  circumstance 
in  the  communication  of  this  which  tends  to  insure  its  effi- 
cacy, is  part  of  that  great  system  of  means  by  which  Jesus 


JESITS    THE    SAVIOR.  69 

Would  operate  for  the  redemption  of  man.  The  ministry 
and  death  of  our  Lord  himself,  the  recorded  word  of  the 
New  Testament,  tlie  establishment  of  teaciiers  and  a  church, 
the  institutions  of  worship,  preaching,  and  ordinances,  the 
arguments  which  convince  the  understanding,  the  com- 
mandments which  control  the  conduct,  the  motives  which 
j>ersuade  the  will  and  subdue  the  passions,  the  entreaties 
wiiicli  move  the  aiTections,  the  warnings  which  assail  the 
fears  and  the  promises  which  elevate  the  hopes,  all  being 
adapted  by  a  moral  operation  to  lead  men  to  faith,  repent- 
ance, and  iioliness,  are  to  be  regarded  as  constituting  a  vast 
and  universal  system  of  means,  which  Christ  was  sent  to 
establish,  to  maintain,  and  to  superintend;  which  operates 
uniformly  and  uninterruptedly,  like  the  sun,  and  air,  and 
dew  upon  the  natural  creation;  always  active  and  fertiliz- 
ing, but  needing  the  cooperation  of  human  labor  for  their 
complete  and  best  effect. 

The  efficacy  of  these  means  is  essentially  promoted  by 
their  association  with  the  personal  labors  and  sufferings  of 
Him  who  died  to  establish  them  among  men.  By  that  pain- 
ful but  voluntary  death,  he  gave  the  most  solemn  proof  of 
the  intiuite  value  of  his  work.  He  exhibited  the  most  dis- 
interested evidence  of  his  own  earnestness  and  love.  He 
made  the  most  affecting  manifestation  of  the  strength  of 
the  divine  abhorrence  of  sin,  and  of  the  greatness  of  the 
divine  compassion  for  man.  It  was  thus  provided,  that,  if 
any  had  been  unaffected  by  his  teaching,  unintluenced  by 
his  example,  unmoved  by  the  wonders  of  his  life,  and  the 
holv  tenderness  and  zeal  with  which  he  had  devoted  him- 
eelf  for  them,  they  might  at  least  be  touched  whon  they 
should  see  him  pouring  out  his  soul  for  them  in  deatii,  and 
so  be  won  by  his  crofis.     And  with  how  many  has  it  proved 


70  JESUS    THE    SAVIOR. 

so!  They  have  resisted  all  his  teaching,  persuasion,  and 
entreaty;  they  have  been  able  to  see,  without  emotion,  the 
beauty  of  his  spotless  life,  and  his  laborious  benevolence. 
But  when  they  were  brought  to  his  cross,  and  saw  that  he 
was  not  only  willing  to  teach  and  rule  them,  but  with 
unparalleled  love  to  die  for  them,  they  have  been  able  to 
resist  no  longer.  Their  hard  hearts  have  melted.  Their 
proud  spirits  have  yielded.  In  the  moment  of  tenderness, 
they  have  abjured  their  sins,  and  resolved  to  live  unto  Him 
"  who  loved  them  and  gave  himself  for  them." 

Is  it  thus  that  we  have  applied  to  ourselves  the  rich  grace 
of  the  gospel  ?  Have  we  thus  felt  the  power  of  its  motives 
and  laws,  and  surrendered  our  souls  to  the  influence  of  its 
holy  and  benevolent  spirit  ?  Have  we  experienced  the  worth 
of  the  doctrines  and  promises  of  a  gracious  Savior  ? 

That  we  need  all  this,  how  can  we  be  ignorant  ?  Liable, 
as  we  are,  to  infirmity  and  temptation,  subjected  to  evil  pas- 
sions, exposed  to  stray  from  duty,  and  God,  and  peace,  in 
pursuing  the  concerns  of  the  world,  how  much  and  how 
constantly  do  we  need  the  instructions  and  sanctions  of  our 
divine  Master,  the  encouragement  of  his  promises,  and  the 
aid  which  he  provides  from  above !  If  we  listen  to  his 
awful  and  delightful  revelations,  and  fill  our  hearts  with  a 
commanding  and  habitual  sense  of  them,  then  the  power 
of  sin  is  weakened ;  its  sceptre  and  chains  are  broken  ;  we 
go  forward  in  the  light  and  liberty  of  the  children  of  God. 
"  The  Son  has  made  us  free,  and  we  are  free  indeed."!  But 
if,  slighting  these  means  of  guidance  and  salvation,  we  seek 
to  pass  forward  unsupported  and  alone,  how  serious  is  the 
danger  that  we  shall  be  lost  in  error,  overcome  by  tempta- 
tion, corrupted  by  the  world,  and  miserable  in  the  end  [• 
For  where  is  there  security,  except  where  Christ  has  pro- 


JESUS    THE    SAVIOR.  71 

vided  it?  Where  is  there  "joy  and  peace,"  except  "in  be- 
lieving "  ?  And  "  how  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so 
great  salvation  ?  " 

Is  there  any. one,  then,  moved  by  such  considerations, 
anxious  for  the  welfare  of  his  soul,  and  earnest  to  know 
what  he  shall  do  to  be  saved  ?  Let  him  receive  in  answer 
the  words  of  the  apostle,  "  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Every  direction  and  every  prep- 
aration is  included  in  faith ;  for  when  you  have  gone  with 
faith  to  the  word  of  the  Savior,  you  trust  an  infallible 
guide,  who  cannot  lead  you  astray.  A  true  faith  and  reli- 
ance on  him  will  insure  to  you  the  right  influence  of  the 
means  he  has  provided,  and  the  spiritual  aid  he  has 
promised. 

Do  you  ask,  further,  how  you  shall  attain,  cherish,  culti- 
vate this  faith  1  Let  it  be  answered,  Bij  diligent  and  ear- 
nest attention  to  the  means  of  religion.  Hope  for  no  attain- 
ments, except  you  use  the  means  for  arriving  at  them. 
'  Least  of  all  expect  a  powerful  and  ruling  faith  in  Christ, 
without  the  most  devoted  use  of  the  means  which  he  has 
instituted.  Be  instant  in  prayer ;  be  frequent  in  medita- 
tion ;  study  the  Scriptures ;  be  punctual  at  the  worship 
and^ordinances  of  God's  house  ;  seek  instruction  from  the 
works  of  pious  men,  and  in  the  conversation  of  those  who 
are  themselves  religious.  Use  these  methods  vigilantly  and 
perseveringly.  It  is  not  the  occasional  use  of  them,  occa- 
sional reading,  meditation,  and  prayer,  which  will  keep  the 
heart  right,  or  maintain  the  ascendency  of  religious  princi- 
ple. The  habjt  i»_ necessary.  These  things  must  be  done 
customarily  and  constantly.  For  the  principle  of  the  re- 
ligious affection,  which  rests  ultimately  in  God,  is  like  that 
of  the  child  to  its  parents.  And  how  is  it  that  that  affec- 
tion, not  in  a  few,  but  nearly,  without  exception,  in  all.chil- 


72  JESUS    TUB    SAVIOK. 

dren,  is  rendered  so  strong,  lively,  and  permanent  ?  '  The 
reason  is,  that  the  child  is  always  with  its  parents,  continu- 
ally lives  with  them  and  speaks  with  them ;  knows  and  feels 
that  it  receives  every  thing  from  them ;  their  image  becomes 
inwoven  with  all  its  thoughts,  affections,  and  plans,  and 
makes  part  of  its  essential  happiness.  Any  man  that  vv^ill 
take  care  to  be  thus  always  with  God,  to  think  of  him,  and 
to  refer  to  him,  and  to  make  the  messages  of  his  love  by 
Jesus  Christ  as  familiar  as  a  mother's  accents  of  love  to 
her  child,  may  render  his  religious  principle  as  strong  and 
fervent.  But  the  filial  affection  of  the  most  devoted  child 
in  the  land  might  be  chilled  and  destroyed,  if  he  kept  him- 
self as  little  acquainted  with  his  parents  as  many  men  are 
with  God.  Learn  wisdom  from  this  example.  Have  not 
the  folly  to  hope  for  the  great  end,  except  you  devotedly 
pursue  the  prescribed  means.  It  is  these  upon  which  God 
pours  the  blessing,  and  which  shall  guide  us  at  last  "  through 
faith  unto  salvation.T 


SERMON    VI 


JESUS  THE  HIGH  PRIEST. 
HEBREWS   IX.   26. 

BUT  NOW,  ONCE,  IN  THE   END  OF    THE    WORLD,  HATH    HE   APPEARED  TO 
PUT  AWAY  SIN  BY  THE   SACRIFICE   OF  HIMSELF. 

It  is  observable  of  the  manner  in  which  the  apostles 
speak  of  our  Lord,  that  they  seem  anxious  to  accumulate 
expressions  which  shall  evince  their  admiration  and  devo- 
tion ;  and  in  order  to  excite  in  others  the  same  sentiments, 
they  take  care  to  select  such  language  and  illustrations,  as 
shall  convey  to  their  minds  the  most  favorable  impressions 
concerning  his  excellence  and  dignity.  These  are  conse- 
quently varied  according  to  the  previous  opinions  and  hab- 
its of  those  whom  they  address  ;  since  that  illustration  which 
should  ascribe  to  him  the  highest  honor  in  the  opinion  of 
one,  might  be  associated  in  the  mind  of  another  with  very 
opposite  feelings.  This  is  only  saying,  in  other  words,  that 
they  adapted  themselves  to  the  habits  of  thinking  and  state 
of  mind  of  those  whom  they  addressed.  This  is  what  Paul 
means  when  he  says,  "  that  he  became  all  things  to  all  men, 
that  he  might  by  all  means  save  some."  It  was  c>n  this 
principle  that  he  strove  to  win  the  attention  of  the  Athe- 
nians, by  representing  the  God  whom  he  would  preach  to 
7 


74  JESUS    THK    HIGH    I'RIEST, 

them,  not  as  a  strange  divinity,  but  as  that  "  Unknown  God" 
whom  they  already  worshiped ;  and  that  he  quoted  to  them, 
in  corroboration  of  his  doctrine,  the  words  of  "  one  of  their 
own  poets." 

It  is  upon  this  principle,  also,  that  the  epistle  to  the  He- 
brews is  written.  It  is  designed  to  conciliate  the  Jews  to 
the  new  religion,  by  exhibiting  it  in  such  lights,  and  under 
such  illustrations,  as  would  render  it  to  them  most  effective. 
In  order  to  this,  the  author  institutes  a  parallel  between 
some  portions  of  the  Mosaic  and  the  Christian  institutions. 
The  Jews  would  seem  to  have  felt  it  as  an  objection  to  the 
doctrines  of  our  Lord,  that  they  threatened  the  abolition  of 
the  ancient  ceremonials;  and  many,  who  could  hardly 
doubt  that  he  was  the  Christ,  were  yet  ready  to  regard  it 
as  a  deficiency  in  his  system,  that  it  provided  no  splendid 
temple  nor  sanctuary,  no  sacrifices  nor  priests,  like  the 
venerable  faith  which  had  been  communicated  to  their 
fathers.  To  meet  this  very  natural  feeling  among  his  coun- 
trymen, the  apostle  explains  to  them,  that  these  things  may 
be  considered  as  existing  in  the  Christian  no  less  than  in 
the  Jewish  dispensation.  Heaven  is  a  temple,  and  that  part 
of  it  which  is  accounted  the  peculiar  residence  of  God  may 
be  called  the  sanctuary,  or  holy  of  holies.  The  death  of 
Christ,  considering  its  moral  cause  and  purposes,  may  be 
deemed  a  sacrifice ;  and  he  himself,  considering  the  design 
of  his  office,  may  be  regarded  as  our  high  priest.  And  not 
only  so,  but  it  is  a  more  splendid  temple,  a  richer  sacrifice, 
a  greater  high  priest.  He  would  thus  make  it  appear 
that  the  Mosaic  religion  had  no  advantage  over  the  Chris- 
tian in  respect  to  ordinances  ;  that,  in  truth,  it  had  pos- 
sessed only  the  shadow,  of  which  the  substance  is  in  the 
gospel.  Under  the  first  covenant  there  was  a  tabernacle 
magnificently     furnished,  which    he    describes;    under    the 


JF.SUS    THE    HIGH    PRIEST.  75 

second  covenant  there  is  "  a  greater  and  more  perfect 
tabernacle,  not  made  with  hands."  Into  tliat  the  hij^h  priest 
entered  with  the  blood  of  beasts;  so  did  Christ  into  this 
with  his  own  blood.  Under  that  covenant  the  sign  of 
cleansing  and  pardon  was  *'  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats, 
and  the  ashes  of  a  heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean  ;  "  under 
this,  it  is  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  "  who,  through  the 
eternal  S[)irit,  offered  himself  to  God.'j  But  the  Jewish 
high  priest  offered  for  himself  as  well  as  for  the  people; 
Jesus  is  greater,  who  needs  no  offering  for  himself  The 
Jewish  high  priest  offered  every  year;  but  Christ  only 
•'  once,  now,  in  the  end  of  the  world,  hath  appeared,  to  put 
away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself" 

Upon  the  parallel  thus  instituted  by  the  apostle  two  re- 
marks may  be  made.  First,  it  is  observable,  that,  in  address- 
ing the  Hebrews,  nothing  could  be  more  natural,  or  more 
likely  to  attract  their  regard  to  the  new  faith.  It  was  illus- 
trating the  high  dignity  of  our  Lord,  and  tiie  purpose  of  his 
office,  in  a  manner  conformable  to  their  previous  religious 
associations  and  habits.  It  thus  adapted  itself  to  their  sacred 
prejudices,  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  gradurd  removal  of 
them.  And  secondly,  <is  it  was  a  mode  of  illustrating  our 
Lord's  character  and  office  peculiarly  suited  to  them,  so  it 
is  one  which  —  with  the  exception  of  a  few  incidental  allu- 
sions, and  the  occasional  occurrence  of  sacrificial  terms  — 
is  never  used  except  in  reference  to  them,  nor  by  any  writer 
except  the  author  of  this  ej)istle.  To  other  nations,  indeed, 
not  familiar  with  the  religious  persons  and  institutions  of 
the  Mosaic  law,  this  mode  of  illustration  is  difficult  to  be 
appreciated.  After  the  best  explanations,  it  remains  not  a 
little  obscure.  This  circumstance  deserves  to  be  consid- 
ered, because  it  may  convince  us  that  the  essence  of  our 
Lord's  office  does  not  consist  in  this  form  of  representing 


76"  JESUS    THE    HIGH    PRIEST. 

it;  since  if  it  did,  it  would  be  the  general  form,  and,  in- 
stead of  being  nearly  confined  to  one  epistle,  would  be  in 
ordinary  use  among  the  apostles,  and  the  title  of  liifrh  priest 
as  familiar  as  that  of  Savior.  Jesus  himself  could  not  have 
passed  through  his  whole  ministry  without  alluding  to  it,  nor 
the  apostles  have  been  utterly  silent  respecting  it  in  their 
preaching,  as  from  the  book  of  Acts  they  appear  to  have 
been.  We  owe  to  it  some  of  the  most  interesting  and 
affecting  views  of  our  Lord's  offices ;  but  they  never  would 
have  been  given  in  the  same  form  to  any  of  the  Gentile 
Christians,  and  cannot,  therefore,  as  regards  the  form,  be 
essential  to  their  right  apprehension.  Our  object  must  be 
to  ascertain  the  great  and  leading  truth  couched  beneath 
these  representations;  to  separate  what  is  essential  from 
what  is  accidental,  and  take  the  substance  rather  than  the 
form. 

In  order  to  this,  let  us  briefly  examine  the  language  of 
the  epistle,  and  show  what  inferences  should  be  drawn  from 
it  for  the  direction  of  our  faith  and  affections. 

The  apostle  represents  our  Lord  as  holding  the  same 
place  in  the  Christian  system  which  the  high  priest  had 
maintained  in  the  Jewish.  He  had  already  described  him 
as  sustaining  the  office  of  Mediator,  like  Moses  in  the  pre- 
vious dispensation ;  and  now,  that  he  may  show  how  all 
lionor  is  accumulated  on  him,  and  that  he  has  a  name  above 
every  name,  he  declares  him  to  hold  in  the  church  forever 
that  most  sacred  function,  and  high  place  of  government, 
which  had  formerly  passed  from  one  to  another  in  the  fam- 
ily of  Aaron. 

The  high  priest  was  the  chief  religious  personage,  or,  as 
we  may  say,  the  head  of  the  ancient  church.  lie  possessed 
a  dignity  of  office  and  a  sacredness  of  person  to  which  none 
else  approached.     He  had  the  supreme  charge  over  all  holy 


Jesus  the  high  priest.  7T 

places,  things,  and  services.  He  alone  had  permission  to 
enter  the  most  holy  place,  and  that  only  on  the  most  solemn 
occasion,  and  in  the  most  imposing  ceremony.  To  this 
high  office  there  is  no  successor  in  the  Christian  church 
but  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  the  only  rightful  head,  and  such 
he  continues  forever. 

The  most  remarkable  circumstance  in  the  duty  of  the 
high  priest,  to  which  especial  reference  is  had  in  this  epis- 
tle, was  his  entering  once  a  year  into  the  holy. of  holies,  to 
make  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  people.  In  this  he  was 
distinguished  from  the  other  priests,  who  might  offer  other 
sacritices  in  the  outer  court,  but  niight  not  enter  the  holiest 
place,  nor  participate  in  that  peculiar  rite.  Upon  that  occa- 
sion, he  was  first  to  make  atonement  for  himself  and  his 
household,  by  burning  incense  before  the  mercy-seat,  and 
sprinkling  the  blood  of  the  bullock  seven  times  upon  it  and 
before  it.  He  was  then  to  slay  a  goat  as  a  sin-offerinor  for 
the  people,  and  in  like  manner  to  sprinkle  the  blood  upon 
and  before  the  mercy-seat,  and  make  an  atonement  for  the 
holy  place,  for  the  tabernacle,  for  the  altar,  and  for  the 
people.  He  was  then  to  take  another  goat,  and,  laying  his 
hands  on  its  head,  confess  over  it  all  the  sins  of  the  people, 
"  putting  them  upon  the  head  of  the  goat,"  and  then  send 
him  away  into  the  wilderness,  "  that  he  might  bear  away 
their  sins  into  a  land  not  inhabited."  * 

This  is  the  scene  to  which  particular  allusion  is  made  in 
what  is  here  said  of  the  high  priest's  office.  The  essential 
point  upon  which  stress  is  laid  —  for  we  are  not  to  seek  a 
parallel  in  every  minute  detail  —  may  be  found  expressed  in 
the  words  of  our  text.  The  object  of  that  service,  like  that 
of  our  Lord's  ministry,  was  "  to  put  away  sin."     The  high 

"  Lev.  XVI. 


78  JESUS    THE    HIGH    PRIEST. 

priest  having  entered  the  holiest  place,  with  the  blood  of  the 
sacrifice,  put  the  sins  of  the  people  on  the  head  of  the  goat, 
and  sent  them  away.  Jesus  entered  into  heaven,  says  the 
apMDStle,  with  his  own  blood,  and  "  put  away  sin  by  the  sac- 
rifice of  himself."  The  purpose  is  the  same  in  both  in- 
stances ;  and  the  means  were  so  far  similar,  as  that  the 
shedding  of  blood  is  insisted  upon  in  each.  The  inquiry 
therefore  is  suggested,  In  what  sense  are  we  to  understand 
that  sin  is  pOt  away  by  the  effusion  of  blood  in  sacrifices  ? 

There  are  two  senses  in  which  sin  may  be  said  to  be 
"  put  away."  The  first  is  the  literal  and  absolute  sense, 
when  a  man,  having  reformed  and  become  righteous,  is  no 
longer  a  sinner.  His  sins  are  in  the  strictest  sense  put 
away,  because  in  fact  they  no  longer  exist.  The  other  is 
a  figurative  or  ritual  sense,  when  any  one  is,  in  certain 
circumstances,  considered  or  treated  as  holy  and  free  from 
sin,  because  of  certain  ritual  formalities  and  conditions.  In 
such  case,  sin  is  said  to  be  "  put  away,"  because,  in  respect 
of  ceremonial  privileges  and  external  religious  advantages, 
the  ill  consequences  and  incapabilities  of  a  sinful  state  are 
removed. 

Now,  it  is  clearly  in  the  latter  sense  only  that  sins  could 
be  removed  by  the  sacrifices  of  the  Jewish  law,  and  by  the 
annual  propitiation.  By  the  sprinkling  of  blood  on  the 
mercy-seat,  the  people  were  not  actually  made  righteous, 
nor  were  their  sins  truly  carried  away  by  the  scape  goat 
into  the  desert.  It  was  wholly  a  ceremonial  and  emblem- 
atical scene.  It  was  an  appointed  sign  of  ceremonial  abso- 
lution. God,  as  the  King  of  the  people,  had  established  this 
method  of  proclaiming,  from  year  to  year,  that  they  should 
be  treated  as  free  from  sin,  and  be  still  favored  as  his  pecu- 
liar peo|)lc.  Not  because  by  this  act  they  became  sinless, 
nor  because  their  transgressions  were  sufliciently  punished 


JESUS    THE    HIGH    PRIEST.  70 

in  the  sufferings  of  the  bullock  and  the  goats.  For  this 
same  atonement  was  extended  to  the  holy  phice,  the  altar, 
and  the  tabernacle.  They  were  all  purged  by  the  same  sac- 
rifice, though  they  had  been  guilty  of  no  sin.  It  could  not 
therefore  be  designed  as  an  actual  purification  of  the  peo- 
ple, but  as  emblematical  merely.  It  could  have  no  effect  to 
change  the  mind  of  God  in  regard  to  them,  or  his  dealings 
toward  them  ;  it  could  only  manifest  his  propitious  disposi- 
tion, and  proclaim  his  gracious  forbearance. 

Beneath  all  this,  however,  there  was  doubtless  couched  a 
moral  meaning  and  a  moral  lesson.  It  was  all  combined 
with  positive  instructions  concerning  duty  and  the  strongest 
prohibitions  of  vice.  For  the  grosser  sins  no  sacrifice  was 
appointed ;  and  none  were  availing,  in  any  case,  to  actual 
pardon  and  acceptance,  except  the  transgressor  were  peni- 
tent and  reformed.  The  most  explicit  language  on  this 
point  is  frequent  throughout  the  Old  Testament.  There 
was  a  spiritual  meaning  to  these  rites ;  but,  like  other  acts 
of  worship,  they  procured  no  spiritual  blessings,  except  to 
the  pious  and  obedient.^  To  impress  lessons  of  piety  and 
obedience  was  one  purpose  of  their  institution  ;  and  this 
was  very  much  effected  by  the  character  of  clemency  and 
readiness  to  forgive  which  they  perpetually  attributed  to  the 
Almighty;  thus  winning  transgressors  to  repent,  and  en- 
couraging the  humble  and  distrustful  to  return  to  their  duty. 
In  this  way  a  moral  effect  was  the  end  at  which  they  aimed, 
and  which  they  had  a  tendency  to  produce.  It  was  their 
final  design,  their  legitimate  result ;  leading,  through  the 
pomp  and  solemnity  of  an  affecting  and  significant  emblem, 
to  contrition,  and  reformation,  and  the  literal  putting  away 
of  sin. 

If  we  now  turn  to  the  office  of  the  Christian  high  priest, 
we  fii»d  that  it  was  the  whole  purpose  of  his  ministry,  from 


80  JESUS    THE    HIGH   PRIEST. 

first  to  last,  "  to  put  away  sin  "  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the 
terms;  to  bring  men  to  repentance,  to  produce  reformation 
and  virtue :  thus  to  cause  them  to  "  be  born  again,"  to  ren- 
der them  "  new  creatures,"  to  make  them  "  partakers  of  a 
divine  nature."  This  was  the  great  end  of  all  which  he  did, 
and  taught,  and  suffered.  It  was  the  purpose  of  all  his  doc- 
trines. It  was  the  object  and  tendency  of  all  his  precepts. 
It  was  the  aim  of  the  sanctions  of  his  religion.  It  was  the 
chosen  work  of  his  life ;  the  work  which  he  commissioned 
his  apostles  to  carry  on,  and  established  his  church  to  main- 
tain, throughout  all  ages.  And  wherever  the  gospel  has 
been  preached,  this  has  been  its  distinguishing  and  glorious 
triumph.  It  has  abolished,  or  at  least  weakened,  the  empire 
of  sin  ;  has  rescued  men  from  its  power,  taught  them  to 
hate  its  influence,  and  led  them  to  seek  for  happiness  in 
driving  it  from  them  and  cultivating  the  holy  spirit  of  virtue. 

What  was  thus  the  one  great  purpose  to  be  accomplished 
by  the  Messiah,  toward  effecting  which  all  his  offices  and 
every  part  of  his  labor  combined,  was  also  the  purpose  to 
be  accomplished  in  his  sacrifice  as  high  priest.  It  is  a 
moral  purpose ;  designed  "  to  put  away  sin,"  not  rituiUly, 
figuratively  ;  but  literally,  absolutely.  Not  by  transfer  of 
guilt,  or  substitution  of  another  to  suffer  in  place  of  the 
guilty,  nor  by  any  mystical  spell  which  may  change  sin  to 
innocence  by  a  touch ;  but  as  a  moral  means,  operating,  like 
other  moral  means,  through  the  senses  and  affections,  by 
emotion,  sympathy,  admiration,  fear,  and  love  —  persuading 
to  penitence,  devotion,  and  obedience.  The  death  of 
Jesus,  independent  of  his  life,  character,  and  labors,  avails 
nothing ;  and  connected  with  them,  it  operates  as  part  of 
the  great  system  of  means  which  effects  its  purpose  by  a 
spiritual  itifluence. 

It  is  true  that  a  similar  influence  is  ascribed  to  the  sacri- 


JESUS   THE    HIGH    PRIEST.  81 

fice  of  o(ir  Lord,  as  to  the  sacrifices  of  the  Jewish  law. 
But  what  have  we  seen  that  to  be?  Not  an  actual,  abso- 
hite,  literal,  cleansing  from  sin.  This  is  nowhere  pre- 
tended. The  whole  authority  of  the  prophets  is  against  it 
The  voice  of  this  epistle  is  against  it.  "  It  is  not  possible," 
it  says,  "  that  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats  should  take 
away  sin."  It  has  no  connection  with  sin,  nor  power  over 
it,  nor  influence  over  the  divine  mind  in  regard  to  it.  Its 
efficacy  consists  in  its  being  the  appointed  sign  to  men  of 
the  divine  clcnieiicy  and  grace.  As  the  blood  of  the  pass- 
over  latnb  upon  the  door-posts  was  "  a  token  "  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  house,  that  they  should  be  saved,  so  the 
blood  of  all  the  sacrifices  was  a  "  token,"  or  sign,  that 
God's  mercy  was  extended  toward  them.  He  had  annexed 
to  it  this  signification.  And  just  so  when  he  delivered  his 
Son  to  death,  it  was  for  a  sign  —  the  most  convincing  and 
satisfactory  which  could  be  given  —  of  his  inexhaustible 
mercy,  of  his  willingness  to  forgive  and  save;  a  sign  that, 
as  "  he  did  not-  spare  his  own  Son,  so  he  was  ready  with 
him  freely  to  give  us  all  things."  It  was  therefore  well 
called  a  "  sacrifice."  It  signified,  what  the  Jewish  sacrifices 
signified,  that  God,  holy  as  he  is,  and  abhorring  all  iniquity, 
is  yet  plenteous  in  redemption,  and  ready  to  forgive;  that 
he  is  waiting  to  be  gracious,  and  encourages  his  prodigal 
children  to  return  ;  that  he  is  ready  to  enter  with  them  into 
a  new  covenant,  and  allow  them  heaceforth  a  new  opportu- 
nity of  approving  themselves  to  him. 

Such  is  its  resemblance  to  the  sacrifices  of  the  ancient 
covenant  —  a  resemblance  which  evidently  does  nothing  to 
destroy  the  moral  nature  of  the  influence  it  exerts.  Those 
availed  in  ritual  blemishes  by  a  positive  ritual  appointment ; 
but  in  regard  to  moral  guilt,  only  by  their  power  to  impress 
the  mind,  and  move  to  penitence  and  holiness.     And  who 


82  JESUS    THE    HIGH    PRIEST. 

is  not  aware  that  precisely  in  this  mode  the  blood  of  Jesus 
avails  to  the  cleansing  and  salvation  of  man?  Who  pre- 
tends that  it  shall  reconcile  to  God,  except  through  the 
faith,  repentance,  and  obedience  which  it  produces?  that  it 
shall  bring  to  him  any  heart  which  does  not  come  with  its 
own  affections?  any  soul  which  does  not  surrender  itself  to 
his  love  and  law  ?  And  who  does  not  know  that,  in  the  im- 
pression of  that  scene,  in  the  affecting  and  pathetic  circum- 
stances under  which  the  Lord  of  glory  was  devoted  to  the 
cross,  there  is  that  which  is  peculiarly  suited  to  touch  the 
sensibility  of  the  soul,  to  awaken  the  sleeping  conscience, 
to  rouse  to  admiration,  wonder,  and  love,  to  gratitude,  re- 
morse, and  repentance  ?  Who  can  know  that  all  this  suf- 
fering was  needful  to  establish  the  new  dispensation  of 
grace,  and  effect  the  removal  of  sin,  and  lead  men  to 
heaven,  without  being  profoundly  impressed  with  a  sense 
of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  the  riches  of  the  divine  compassion  ? 
Who,  that  allows  himself  to  reflect  and  feel,  can  look  un- 
moved on  the  token  of  his  mercy  which  God  has  there  given, 
or  the  sign  of  his  grace  which  he  has  there  displayed  ?  It 
reminds  him  of  the  horrible  evil  of  sin,  which  brought  the 
Savior  into  the  world  to  suffer  and  die;  of  the  placability  of 
the  Father,  who  provides  for  the  return  and  acceptance  of 
his  children,  and  "  reconciles  the  world  to  himself,  not  im- 
puting their  transgressions  to  them  ;  "  and  of  the  aggravated 
guilt  which  they  must  incur,  who  should  harden  their  hearts 
against  allthis  morcy,  and  continue  in  sin  while  grace  thus 
abounds.  lie  acknowledges  the  power  of  tiie  cross;  he 
bends  before  the  persuasive  entreaties  of  the  Savior's  suf- 
ferings, and  turns  to  God  with  his  whole  heart.  Herein  is 
the  power  of  the  sacrifice  —  it  has  efTectually  j)ut  away  his 
sins,  and  saved  his  soul. 

That  there  is  no  other  eflicacy  in  our  Lord's  sufferings, 
except  in  the  mode  which  has  now  been  described,  I  do  not 


JESUS    THE    HIGH    PRIEST,  83 

assert.  But  thus  much  is  clear  —  that  this  is  the  only  op- 
eration which  we  can  understand,  or  with  which  we  can  i)er- 
ceive  that  man  has  any  practical  concern.  In  the  mind  and 
counsels  of  God,  there  may  be  consequences  which  we  do 
not  discern  and  cannot  penetrate.  An  importance  is  plainly 
attributed  to  the  Messiah's  death  in  the  Scriptures,  which  is 
ascribed  to  that  of  no  other  person.  It  is  spoken  of  with 
peculiar  emphasis  and  feeling,  and  is  connected  in  a 
peculiar  maimer  with  the  terms  of  pardon  and  life.  We 
may,  therefore,  be  certain  that  it  holds  a  most  important 
place  in  the  Christian  scheme ;  that  we  owe  to  it,  perhaps, 
much  more  than  we  can  at  present  know,  far  more  than  we 
can  distinctly  apprehend.  But  what  we  can  apprehend, 
what  we  do  understand,  should  be  enough  to  satisfy  us. 
"The  secret  things  belong  unto  the  Lord  our  God;"  it  is 
not  for  us  curiously  to  pry  into  them,  nor  should  we  per- 
haps be  made  better  if  we  could  discover  them.  What  God 
has  been  pleased  to  reveal,  is  enough  for  our  gratitude,  guid- 
ance, and  peace.  True  humility  will  be  content  with  this, 
and  not  ambitiously  seek  to  explain  what  the  Scriptures 
have  not  explained.  If  we  can  discern  the  powerful  moral 
operation  by  which  our  Lord's  death  convinces  men  of  sin, 
of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment,  and  sanctifies  their  souls, 
it  is  enough,  or  more  would  have  been  told.  Let  us  be 
content  to  rest  in  humble  ignorance  of  whatever  mysterious 
purposes  may  be  otherwise  effected,  and  fear  lest  our  solici- 
tude to  know  more  should  destroy  the  practical  and  saving 
inlluence  of  what  is  already  certain. 

But  besides  the  view  of  our  Lord's  character  as  High 
Priest,  which  we  have  now  taken,  there  is  yet  another,  on 
which  this  epistle  dwells  with  still  stronger  emphasis  and 
l)Ieasure ;  and  that  is,  his  personal  character,  as  exhibiting, 
in  its  traits  of  benevolent  sympathy  and  tenderness,  a  pledge 
of  the  placability  and  grace  of  God,  and  an  encouragement 


84  JESUS    THE    HIGH    PRIEST. 

to  the  frailty  and  apprehensions  of  man.  There  are  few 
portions  of  Scripture  more  delightful  than  these  to  the  peni- 
tent, timorous,  self-distrusting  believer.  The  power  of  per- 
suasive and  pathetic  language  is  almost  exhausted  in  de- 
scribing the  compassion  of  our  great  High  Priest,  and  in 
setting  forth  the  comfort  and  animation  which  his  example 
and  sufferings  should  impart.  Even  the  Jewish  ritual  had 
taught  that  God  is  not  inexorable,  but  willing  to  forgive. 
But  in  the  character  and  labors,  the  tenderness  and  suffer- 
ings, of  Jesus,  it  is  yet  more  touchingly  exhibited.  Here  he 
invites  us  with  a  voice  of  kindness,  and  cheers  us  with  the 
countenance  of  love.  We  may  come  no  longer  in  abject 
fear  and  servile  dread,  "  like  slaves  beneath  the  throne,  but 
boldly ;  "  "  for  we  have  not  a  high  priest  who  cannot  be 
touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but  who  was  in 
all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin  ;  and  hav- 
ing himself  suffered,  being  tempted,  is  able  to  succor  those 
who  are  tempted  ;  "  "  who  is  able  also  to  save  those  to  the 
uttermost  who  come  to  God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  them." 

What  shall  we  add  to  this  language  of  the  Scriptures  ?  It 
speaks  more  plainly  than  we  can  express,  and  with  an  au- 
thority which  we  should  not  dare  assume,  of  the  abounding 
grace  of  God,  as  confirmed  to  us  by  the  ministry  and  death 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Let  us  rejoice  in  it.  Let  us 
strive  to  be  worthy  of  it.  Let  us  surrender  to  it  our  faith, 
our  trust,  our  affections.  For  where  would  be  our  apology 
or  our  hope,  if,  unmoved  by  this  rich  and  wonderful  abun- 
dance of  invitation,  compassion,  and  aid,  we  should  suffer 
ourselves  to  be  strangers  to  his  love,  aliens  from  his  pres- 
ence, rebels  against  his  law  !  if  we  should  be  found  capable 
of  thus  trampling  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  doing 
despite  to  the  spirit  of  grace,  and  counting  the  blood  of  the 
covenant,  wherewith  we  are  sanctified,  an  unholy  thing  ! 


SERMON    VII. 


THE  ATONEMENT   BY  JESUS  CHRIST. 
ROMANS  V.  11. 

AND  NOT  ONLY  SO,  BUT    WE    ALSO   JOY  IN  GOD,  THROUGII    OUR  LORD  JE 
SUS  CHRIST,   BY    WHOM   WE    HAVE    NOW  RECEIVED   THE   ATONEMENT. 

The  apostle,  in  the  preceding  part  of  this  epistle,  has 
employed  himself  in  showing  that  Jew,  as  well  as  Gentile,  is 
to  be  saved  by  the  grace  of  God ;  that,  therefore,  the  boast- 
ing of  the  Jew  in  his  law  is  vain ;  and  that  the  Gentile  can- 
not be  required  to  conform  to  that  law,  in  order  to  his  ad- 
mission to  the  Christian  dispensation.  In  this  he  had 
reference  to  the  great  controversy  of  the  age.  The  Jews, 
glorying  in  their  exclusive  privileges  as  the  people  of  God, 
insisted  that  there  could  be  no  favor  to  the  Gentiles,  except 
through  a  previous  initiation  to  their  church.  Paul,  on 
the  other  hand,  contended  strenuously  for  the  rights  of 
the  Gentiles,  independently  of  the  Mosaic  institutions.  He 
asserted  that  God  was  in  Christ  introducing  a  new  dispen- 
sation of  grace  for  all  men,  in  which  they  might  freely  par- 
take without  first  passing  through  the  ceremonials  of  the 
former  faith. 

Having  thus  cut  off  from  the  Jews  their  favorite  ground 
of  boasting,  and  showed  the  title  of  the  Gentile  believers  to 
be  as  good  as  theirs,  the  apostle  begins  the  present  chapter 
8 


86  TlIK    ATONEMENT    BY    JESUS    CHRIST. 

with  exhibiting  the  causes  of  rejoicing  which  pertain  to  the 
Gentile  Christians. 

The  first  is  the  hope  of  glory,  to  which  the  grace  of  God 
has  introduced  them,  and  to  which  they  had  been  previously 
strangers.  The  second  is,  their  sufferings  for  the  gospel's 
sake  —  "  we  glory  in  tribulations  also"  —  because  they  lead 
to  increased  attainments  in  the  spirit  and  virtues  of  religion, 
and  thus  prepare  the  way  for  its  peace  and  bliss.  The  third 
is  their  relation  to  God  as  their  God ;  we  joy  in  God ;  this 
they  could  not  do  formerly,  as  being  Gentiles,  who  had  not 
the  true  knowledge  of  God,  and  were  not  admitted  to  the 
privileges  of  his  people ;  but  now,  being  brought  nigh  in 
the  establishment  of  the  new  covenant,  "  we  joy  in  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  received 
the  atonement." 

It  is  the  third  ground  of  the  believer's  glorying,  or  joy, 
which  forms  the  text  of  our  discourse.  In  considering  this, 
we  find  four  topics  of  remark. 

1.  The  meaning  of  the  word  atonement,  as  here  used. 

2.  The  persons  who  receive  this  atonement. 

3.  The  mode  in  which  it  is  received. 

4.  The  joy  occasioned  by  its  reception. 

1.  We  are  to  speak  of  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  atone- 
ment." 

Here,  it  is  to  be  observed,  first  of  all,  that  this  is  the  only 
place  in  the  New  Testament  in  which  the  word  occurs.  It 
is  not  again  used  in  the  Christian  Scriptures  by  any  writer, 
in  any  connection,  in  relation  to  any  subject.  It  is  never 
used  in  relation  to  the  terms  of  pardon,  or  acceptance  with 
God,  to  explain  the  ground  of  the  sinner's  hope,  mt  to  illus- 
trate any  of  the  works  or  ofiices  of  Christ ;  neither  in  rela- 
tion to  his  life,  his  doctrines,  his  sufferings,  or  his  death. 
This  is  a  fact  of  which  we  should  be  thoroughly  aware,  that 


THK    ATONEMENT    BV    JESUS    CHKIST.  87 

the  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  throughout  tliat  volume, 
have  never  found  occasion  to  introduce  the  word  "  atone- 
ment."    We  meet  with  it  nowhere  except  in  our  text. 

In  the  next  place,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that,  as  occurring 
in  this  passage,  it  is  universally  acknowledged  to  be  a  clear 
and  unquestionable  mistranslation  of  the  original  word.  In 
every  other  case  in  which  the  same  word  occurs,  it  is  ren- 
dered reconciliation ;  as  when  the  apostle  says,  "  He  hath 
given  unto  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation."  So  it  should 
have  been  rendered  here.  Doddridge  remarks,  that  it  has  so 
evident  reference  to  the  word  reconciled  in  the  context,  that 
"  it  is  surprising  it  should  have  been  rendered  by  so  dif- 
ferent a  word  in  our  version."  *  Other  commentators  speak 
to  the  same  effect. 

A  single  glance  at  the  connection  in  which  the  text 
stands  will  satisfy  us  that  this  interpretation  is  necessary  to 
the  sense  of  the  passage ;  for  there  is  an  obvious  allusion 
to  the  language  of  the  verse  immediately  preceditig.  "  If," 
says  the  apostle,  "  when  we  were  enemies,  we  were  recon- 
ciled to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son,  nmch  more,  being 
reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved  by  his  .life."  Then  follows 
our  text,  in  which  he  declares  that  those  who  are  thus  recon- 
ciled, "  rejoice  in  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  they 
have  received  this  reconciliation." 

A  glance  at  the  word  "  atonement"  itself  may  also  con- 
vince us  that  the  true  meaning  is  reconciliation.  The  re- 
mark has  been  made,  and  may  b^  profitably  repeated,!  that 
to  atone,  in  its  primary  use,  signified  to  reconcile.  It  is 
formed  by  the  union  of  the  two  words  at  and  one.  Persons 
who  have  once  differed,  on  being  reconciled,  are  set  at  one. 

*  Family  Expositor,  in  loc.  note. 

t  See  especially  Dr.  Ware's  Letters  to  Trinitarians  and  CaltmistSy 
Letter  V.  p.  95. 


88  THE    ATONEMENT    BY    JESUS    CHRIST, 

To  put  at  one,  or  to  at-one,  is  originally  to  reconcile ;  con- 
sequently atonement  is  reconciliation.  This  we  know  to  have 
been  the  signification  of  the  word  as  it  was  used  at  the 
period  when  our  translation  of  the  Bible  was  made ;  it  was 
undoubtedly  the  meaning  attached  to  it  by  the  translators. 

Let  us  remember,  then,  that  the  word  "  atonement,"  in 
the  only  instance  in  which  it  is  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, is  the  same  with  "  reconciliation."  But  w^hat  is  to 
be  understood  by  "  reconciliation  1 " 

To  answer  this  will  require  few  words ;  for  it  is  the  com- 
prehensive term  which  expresses,  in  one  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, the  entire  purpose  of  the  Savior's  mission.  The  world 
was  estranged  from  God,  worshiping  false  divinities,  and 
pursuing  evil  practices.  Its  inhabitants  had  wandered  from 
God,  and  were  "  aliens,"  "  afar  off."  He  sent  his  Son  to 
bring  them  near ;  to  acquaint  them  with  his  character ;  to 
restore  them  to  their  allegiance;  to  make  them  his  friends  ; 
and  thus,  in  one  word,  to  reconcile  them.  Hence  the 
apostle  calls  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  the  ministry  of 
"reconciliation;"  because  "God  is  in  Christ  reconciling 
the  world  to  himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto 
them."  This  he  represents  to  be  the  burden  of  the  message 
with  which  the  preachers  of  the  word  are  charged  —  "we 
are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech 
you  by  us,  we  pray  you,  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled 
to  God." 

Thus  much  respecting  the  signification  of  this  important 
word.     We  proceed  to  consider, 

2.    Who  are  said  to  receive  the  Jitonement. 

The  idea  conveyed  by  this  language  of  the  sacred  writers, 
is  that  of  two  parties  at  variance.  There  is  aji  alienation 
between  God  and  his  people.  A  reconciliation  is  to  take 
place  Which  party  is  to  receive  it  ?  Which  party  makes, 
and  which  receives,  the  offers  of  peace  ? 


THE   ATONEMENT    BY    JESOS   CHRIST.  89 

The  answer  to  tliis  will  depend  upon  the  reply  to  a  pre- 
vious question.  Which  party  is  at  variance,  which  at  en- 
mity ?  Is  God  at  variance  with  his  children,  or  they  with 
him  ?  Has  he  forsaken  them,  or  have  they  forsaken  him?  Is 
he  the  enemy  of  men,  or  are  tliey  the  enemies  of  God  ?  The 
reply  to  this  question  is  ready  upon  every  heart  and  tongue. 
God  has  never  estranged  himself  from  men,  nor  forsaken 
them,  nor  been  their  enemy.  "  He  has  hated  nothing  which 
he  has  made."  His  name  is  Love  ;  and  in  long-sufleriiig 
love  he  has  forborne  them  and  been  patient  with  them, 
pitied  them  as  a  father  his  children,  showered  down  mercy, 
and  made  punishment  his  strange  work.  The  history  of  the 
world  bears  testimony  that  he  has  never  ceased  to  be  gra- 
cious, and  that  if  there  have  been  any  separation  between 
him  and  his  human  family,  it  has  taken  place  on  the  part 
of  his  wayward  offspring.  They  -have  neglected  and  forgot- 
ten him ;  they  have  been  thankless  and  disobedient.  They 
have  disliked  his  law,  been  impatient  beneath  the  restraint 
of  his  government,  and  unwilling  to  retain  him  in  their 
knowledge.  The  alienation  was  entirely  on  their  part ;  it 
is  their  enmity  which  is  to  be  subdued  and  forgiven,  and  it 
is  they,  therefore,  who  are  to  receive  the  reconciliation. 

With  this  statement  the  Scriptures  perfectly  accord. 
The  aspect  of  all  the  dispensations  is  that  of  God's  love. 
His  infinite  and  unchangeable  benignity,  his  free  and  unfail- 
ing mercy,  shine  conspicuously  in  all.  They  do  not  exhibit 
him  as  a  stern  avenger,  an  inexorable  sovereign,  a  God  of 
terror  and  wrath ;  but  as  gracious  and  merciful,  plenteous  in 
redemption,  full  of  compassion  —  the  enemy  of  sin,  indeed, 
and  sometimes  displaying  his  indignant  displeasure  in  works 
of  severity  and  destruction ;  but  long-suffering  toward  the 
guilty,  and  not  desirous  that  any  should  perish.  Notwith- 
standing the  sins  of  man,  he  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  sent 
8* 


90  THE    ATONEMENT   BY   JESUS    CHRIST. 

his  Son  to  save  it.  "  He  magnified  his  love  toward  us,  in 
that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us."  He 
did  not  need  to  be  rendered  propitious,  to  be  persuaded  to 
extend  favor  to  man ;  for  he  was  already  waiting  to  be  gra- 
cious ;  the  hand  of  forgiveness  was  already  stretched  out. 
It  was  men  who  needed  to  be  induced  to  seek  forgiveness. 
They  had  set  themselves  afar  off,  and  needed  to  be  per- 
suaded to  come  near.  And  therefore  the  language  of  Scrip- 
ture is,  "  God  is  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  to  him- 
self; "  not  himself  to  the  world. 

It  is  sometimes  thought,  that  God  receives  the  atonement ; 
that  it  is  a  means  used  to  reconcile  him  to  the  world,  and 
to  persuade  or  enable  him  to  grant  pardon  and  favor,  which 
otherwise  he  might  be  indisposed  or  unable  to  bestow.  But 
the  uniform  representation  of  Scripture  certainly  is,  that 
this  atonement  flows  from  his  grace,  not  that  his  grace  is 
the  consequence  of  the  atonement ;  that  he  sent  his  Son  to 
live  and  suffer  for  the  salvation  of  men,  not  that  the  Son 
lived  and  suffered  in  order  to  win  the  good-will  of  God 
toward  them.  It  would  be  dishonorable  to  our  heavenly 
Father  to  suppose  any  other  one  to  have  more  compassion 
than  he,  and  to  be  the  first  in  devising  and  prosecuting  a 
plan  for  human  redemption.  The  Scripture  expressly  speaks 
of  reconciling  men  to  God,  never  of  reconciling  God  to  men. 
Let  us  adhere  to  this  important  distinction.  Let  us  receive 
with  grateful  emotions  this  plain  statement  t)f  God's  inherent 
and  esscnti;d  grace.  Let  us  neither  question  it,  by  ascribing 
it  to  the  previous  labors  of  one  more  gracious  than  himself, 
nor  abuse  it  by  ungrateful  continuance  in  rebellious  sin. 

3.  Tlie  next  observation  to  be  drawn  from  our  text 
relates  to  tlie  mode  in  which  this  atonement,  or  reconcilia- 
tion, is  receivcrl  —  "  through  Jesus  Christ."  He  is  the  me- 
dium through  which  are  communicated  all  the  purposes  and 


THE    ATONEMENT    BY   JESUS    CHRIST.  91 

fevelations  of  God.  He  is  the  messenger  by  whom  are 
made  known  the  kind  purposes  of  the  Father  toward  his 
children,  and  by  whom  is  preached  "  peace  to  those  who 
are  afar  off  and  to  those  who  are  nigh."  He  came,  com- 
missioned witli  all  the  authority  and  power,  all  the  wisdom 
and -holiness,  that  should  be  necessary  to  convince,  and  per- 
suade, and  win  men  to  their  allegiance  to  God.  And  by 
eiiiployiiig  all  these  jjowers,  by  exercising  all  these  gifts,  by 
estiiblishiiig  a  new  dis|)eiisation,  by  his  instructions,  doc- 
trine, and  example,  by  his  life  and  sufferings,  his  labors  and 
death,  —  he  did  all  that  was  needful  to  teach  men  the  way 
of  return,  and  lead  them  back  to  God. 

Especially  were  the  anguish  and  patience  of  his  final 
sufferings,  and  his  fearful  death  upon  the  cross,  appointed 
and  powerful  means  of  affecting  the  souls  of  men,  and 
restoring  them  to  the  love  of  duty  and  of  God.  To  this  por- 
tion of  his  ministration,  therefore,  the  work  of  reconciliation 
is  frequently  attributed.  "  He  died,  the  just  for  the  unjust, 
that  he  might  bring  us  to  God."  "  He  made  peace  by  his 
cross."  He  thus  exhibited  the  earnest  desire  of  our  heav- 
enly Father  to  reclaim  his  wandering  children  to  the  ways 
of  pleasantness  and  peace.  He  thus  exhibited  a  spectacle 
which  none  can  contemplate  without  emotion  ;  which  thou- 
sands have  thought  upon  and  wept — wept  those  tears  of 
sorrow  and  contrition  which  have  issued  in  repentance,  and 
been  led,  humble  and  suppliant,  to  the  footstool  of  God's 
mercy,  and  thence  upward  in  the  path  to  heaven.  What 
multitudes  have  thus  felt  the  power  of  this  reconcilinor 
grace !  They  have  cast  the  burden  of  their  sins  at  the  foot 
of  the  cross,  and,  in  the  strong  figure  of  the  Apocalypse, 
have  "  washed  their  garments,  and  made  them  wiiite,  in  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb." 

4.  We  were  to  speak,  la.stly,  of  the  joy  or  glorying  oc- 
casioned by  this  doctrine  in  the  mind  of  the  believer. 


92  THE   ATONEMEXT    BY   JESOS    CMRIS5T, 

Here  let  us  go  back,  and  observe  the  state  of  feeling  in 
the  apostle's  own  mind.  He  had  been  setting  aside  the 
boasting  of  the  Jews  in  their  peculiar  privileges  as  God's 
chosen  people,  and  proving  that  they  had  no  reason  to  ex- 
clude or  despise  the  Gentiles.  And  now,  in  the  name  of 
the  Gentiles,  he  is  bringing  forward  the  grounds  of  their 
religious  boasting.  The  select  nation  can  no  longer  glory 
in  God  as  their  peculiar  divinity.  Once,  indeed,  it  was  so, 
and  we  Gentiles  were  aliens  and  strangers ;  but  now  we 
also  are  brought  near,  and  called  into  his  family  ;  we  also 
are  partakers  of  his  revealed  religion,  and  the  hope  of  his 
glory;  we,  therefore,  as  well  as  they,  may  "joy  in  God, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  noic  re- 
ceived reconciliation."  The  apostle  was  thinking  of  the 
general  fact,  which  was  so  frequently  the  theme  of  his 
preaching  and  epistles,  and  to  establish  which  he  so 
anxiously  labored  ;  the  fact  that,  in  the  gospel,  the  distinc- 
tion between  Jew  and  Gentile  was  abolished,  the  middle 
walls  of  partition  thrown  down,  and  all  nations  placed  in  a 
state  of  reconciliation  —  that  general  fact,  to  which  most  of 
the  passages  refer  which  speak  of  the  world  being  reconciled 
and  redeemed  by  the  ministry  and  death  of  Jesus  Christ. 
When  the  apostle  contemplated  this  glorious  truth,  which 
evinced  the  equal  and  impartial  mercy  of  the  universal 
parent,  no  wonder  that  his  heart  was  enlarged,  and  that  he 
spake  of  it  here  and  elsewhere  in  ardent  accents  of  joy  and 
triumph. 

It  should  be  equally  matter  of  religious  rejoicing  to  us. 
To  see  the  diffusion  of  an  impartial  and  universal  religion, 
which  gives  one  light  and  one  hope  to  all  the  sons  of  men  ; 
which  brings  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  into  an 
equal  state  of  favor ;  which  collects  in  one  the  family  in 
heaven  and  on  earth,  and  unites  it  under  one  name,  —  how 
shall  we  not  triumph  and  rejoice  in  this  great  and  sublime 


THE    ATONEMENT    BY    JESUS    CHRIST.  93 

truth,  this  mystery,  as  the  apostle  calls  it,  "  wliich  was  kept 
secret  .since  the  world  began,  but  is  now  made  manifest  to 
all  nations  "  ? 

There  is  not  only  reason  for  joy  in  this  general  sense,  but 
in  a  particular  and  personal  sense.  For  by  this  gracious 
method  of  reconciliation  we  are^  individually,  put  in  the 
condition  to  be  pardoned,  accepted,  and  saved;  individu- 
ally introduced  to  a  participation  of  the  highest  privileges 
which  God  has  bestowed  on  his  children  upon  earth,  and  of 
the  most  glorious  hopes  which  he  has  opened  to  them  in 
heaven.  We  have  each  of  us,  personally,  been  taken  from 
that  state  in  which  our  fathers  were  once  exposed,  "  with- 
out God  and  without  hope,"  and  made  to  "  sit  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ  Jesus."  If  we  have  any  right  sense  of  our 
privileges,  this  will  be  reason  for  joy  indeed — joy  that  the 
highway  of  life  is  opened  before  us,  and  that  nothing  may 
hinder  us  from  glory,  honor,  and  immortality,  if  we  be  but 
faithful  to  ourselves ;  joy  in  God,  who  has  thus  manifested 
his  divine  love,  and  not  suffered  even  our  sins  to  separate  us 
from  his  mercy.  To  him,  then,  be  our  gratitude  given. 
"  All  things  are  of  God,  who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself 
by  Jesus  Christ."  Of  his  own  voluntary  and  unsolicited 
grace,  unmoved,  except  by  the  inherent  and  immutable  be- 
nignity of  his  own  nature,  he  sent  his  Son  to  bestow  on  us 
that  light,  to  secure  for  us  those  advantages,  to  establish  for 
us  those  means,  by  which  pardon  and  life  may  be  ours ;  to 
toil  for  us  that  we  might  be  free,  to  die  for  us  that  we 
might  live.  To  him,  therefore,  be  our  gratitude  and  praise ; 
in  him  be  our  joy ;  in  him,  as  our  God  and  Father,  be  our 
trust  and  hope. 

Such  is  the  doctrine  of  oui  text  and  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Thus  is  it  calculated  to  excite  gratitude  to  our 
heavenly  Father,  and  heighten  our  devotion. 


SERMON    VIII 


JESUS  THE  INTERCESSOR. 
ROMANS  VIII.  34. 

IT  IS  CHRIST  THAT  DIED,  YEA,  RATHER,  THAT  IS  RISEN  AGAIN,  WHO  IS 
EVEN  AT  THE  RIGHT  HAND  OF  GOD,  WHO  ALSO  MAKETU  INTERCESSION 
FOR  US. 

This  is  one  of  the  only  two  passages  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, which  speak  of  Jesus  as  making  intercession.  In 
what  this  intercession  consists  we  are  nowhere  distinctly 
told.  The  passage  before  us  does  not  describe  it,  and  the 
other  passage  in  Hebrews  (vii.  25)  speaks  of  it  only  in  a 
general  and  figurative  adaptation  of  a  ceremonial  observance 
of  the  Mosaic  ritual.  This  consisted  in  the  sprinkling  of 
blood  on  the  mercy-seat,  upon  the  annual  day  of  propitia- 
tion. In  conformity  with  this,  some  have  been  fond  of 
representing  the  intercession  of  Jesus,  as  the  sprinkling  of 
his  blood  before  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven.  But  this  is 
to  speak  without  any  distinct  sense;  for  we  know  that  there 
is  no  material  throne  in  heaven,  and  that  he  did  not  strictly 
bear  thither  the  blood  which  flowed  upon  the  cross.  It  is 
but  a  strong  figure,  which  needs  to  be  explained. 

Others  suppose  it  to  signify  simply  the  presenting  of  his 
hunianitv,  (as  they  term  it,)  that  is,  iiis  ascended  human 
body,  before  God,  to  remind  him,  by  its  presence,  of  his 


JliSUS    Tllli    INTERCESSOR.  1>0 

gracious  promises  to  men,  and  of  what  had  been  suffered 
for  them.  They  suppose  this  perpetual  exhibition  of  the 
body  in  which  he  suffered,  to  be  the  essence  of  that  inter- 
cession which  he  makes  for  his  church. 

Others  suppose  it  to  consist  in  his  perpetually  pleading 
his  merits  before  God,  and  claiming  the  reward  of  his  obe- 
dience and  death,  in  the  salvation  of  the  saints. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  all,  or  either,  of  the.se 
opinions.  They  are  merely  inferences  from  single  unde- 
fined expressions,  like  that  of  our  text,  and  may  seem  to  be 
more  or  less  plausible,  according  to  the  general  notions  of 
that  religious  system  which  any  one  may  have  adopted. 

Let  us,  then,  pass  by  these,  and  examine  the  subject  for 
ourselves. 

To  intercede,  or  to  make  intercession,  signifies  to  inter- 
pose, in  behalf  of  another,  to  some  third  person,  wiio  has 
power  to  show  him  favor.  This  may  be  done  either  by 
action  or  by  word.  Whatever,  therefore,  our  Lord  has  done, 
by  his  life,  death,  labors,  or  prayers,  in  behalf  of  man,  may 
be  considered  as  part  of  his  intercessory  onice. 

For  by  all  these  he  stepped  in,  like  Aaron  with  the 
censer  to  stay  the  plague,  between  man  and  ruin,  and  by  all 
helped  forward  his  salvation.  It  is  conscquetitly  supposed 
by  many,  that  this  language  is  only  a  general  expression  to 
signify,  that  he  "exercises  kind  offices"  in  behalf  of  men. 
In  this  case,  however,  it  is  plain  that  intercession  would  be 
precisely  the  same  thing  as  the  exercise  of  his  mediatorial 
office.  All  the  services,  which  Christ  has  rendered  man, 
are  done  by  him  as  Mediator.  That  office  comprehends 
every  exercise  of  his  love,  every  display  of  his  benevolence, 
every  effort  to  extend  salvation.  Intercession  should  be 
regarded  as  one  of  these  modes  of  exertion,  rather  than  as 
all.     Even  if  it  were  allowable  to  consider  the  term  as  in- 


96  JESUS    THE    INTERCESSOR. 

eluding  all  his"  kind  offices  toward  man,  or  as  an  indefinite 
phrase  to  signify  whatever  it  may  be  which  he  does  for  man 
in  his  exalted  state ;  yet  it  may  be  more  strictly  exact  to 
understand  it  as  intending  intercession  by  prayer.  This 
seems  to  be  the  more  usual  sense  of  the  word,  both  in  our 
own  language  and  in  that  of  the  original  Scriptures. 

The  doctrine,  then,  seems  to  be,  that  our  blessed  Lord, 
who  poured  out  his  prayers  as  well  as  his  life  for  men  when 
on  earth,  forgets  not,  in  his  exalted  state  also,  to  seek  their 
benefit  by  his  prayers,  and  thus  to  express  the  interest 
which  he  s^iil  takes  in  that  race  for  which  he  labored  and 
died. 

It  will  be  my  object  to  illustrate  the  truth  of  this  doctrine, 
to  clear  it  from  objection,  to  explain  its  purposes,  and  un- 
fold its  uses. 

I.  1.  We  may  remark,  in  the  first  place,  —  that  Jesus  should 
be  engaged  in  such  an  office,  is  perfectly  consonant  to  all 
that  we  know  of  the  mode  of  the  divine  administration,  and  to 
all  that  we  understand  of  the  method  of  God's  operations  in 
the  universe.  He  has  every  where  established  a  uniform 
system  of  mutual  dependence.  Nothing  stands  by  itself 
No  being  exists  alone.  All  lean  upon  each  other.  Every 
individual  is  made  to  help  others,  and  to  receive  help  from 
others.  It  is  a  large,  comprehensive  arrangement  of  benefi- 
cence, in  which  God's  kind  purposes  are  effected  by  caus- 
inor  his  creatures  to  do  kind  offices  to  one  another.  The 
very  worlds  which  roll  through  space  are  dependent  on 
each  other,  and  influence  each  other.  Men  are  dependent 
on  one  another  for  existence  and  for  happiness.  The 
parent  and  cliild,  the  teacher  and  pupil,  the  ruler  and  sub- 
ject, the  rich  and  poor,  all  are  needful  to  each  other.  And 
look  where  we  may,  every  thing  and  every  being  seems 
njade,  not  for  itself  only,  but  for  the  benefit  of  others  also. 


JESUS    THE    INTERCESSOR.  97 

The  intercessory  office  of  Jesus  may  be  regarded  as 
part  of  this  wide-spread  and  all-cinbracing  system.  Agree- 
ably to  this  universal  law  of  kindness,  God  has  appointed 
that  his  children  on  earth  shall  receive  fiivor  and  blessing 
througli  the  various  instrumentality  of  his  dear  Son.  It  is 
his  favorite  procedure  to  bestow  his  gifts  by  means  of  inter- 
mediate agents ;  to  withdraw  himself,  as  it  were,  from  im- 
mediate action  and  observation,  that  he  may  exercise  the 
virtues  and  good  affections  of  his  children  on  one  another. 
Thus,  in  the  present  instance,  he  would  multiply  the  objects 
of  their  affection  and  gratitude,  by  appointing  that  favors 
shall  be  conveyed  to  them  through  the  intercession  of  their 
Savior. 

This  is  also  conformable  to  the  method  of  his  providence 
and  grace,  as  recorded  in  the  Scriptures.  The  frequent 
examples  of  prevalent  intercession,  both  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  prove  to  us  that  this  is  one  of  the  means 
by  which  God  has  appointed  to  dispense  blessing.  When 
the  destruction  of  Sodom  was  threatened,  how  did  his  con- 
descending mercy  listen  to  the  importunate  pleading  of 
Abraham,  and  promise  to  spare  at  his  entreaty  !  When  the 
people  of  Israel  had  rebelliously  sinned,  how  often  were 
they  forgiven,  and  their  punishment  delayed,  at  the  interpo- 
sition of  Moses!  So,  too,  the  prayers  of  David  and  Samuel, 
of  Elisha  and  Solomon,  were  acceptable,  and  the  offending 
friends  of  Job  were  pardoned  at  his  intervention.  And 
when  the  people  had  transgressed  beyond  mercy  in  the  days 
of  Jeremiah,  the  prophet  was  commanded,  as  the  most  de- 
cided expression  of  God's  displeasure,  "  Therefore  pray  not 
thou  for  this  people,  neither  lift  up  cry  nor  prayer  for  them, 
neither  make  intercession  to  me  ;   for  I  will  not  hear  thee." 

The  authority  of  the  New  Testament  is  even  more  deci- 
sive   than    that    of   the  Old.      The  principle  of  acceptable 


98  JKSOS    THE    INTERCBSSOR. 

intercession  is  very  frequently  recognized.  Christians  are 
commanded  to  pray  for  one  another.  The  apostles  request 
the  brethren  to  pray  for  thein,  and  they  offer  their  own 
prayers  for  the  brethren.  Paul  directs  that  "  intercessions 
be  made  for  all  men."  "  Confess  your  faults  one  to  an- 
other," says  James,  "  and  pray  for  one  another.  The  prayer 
of  faith  shall  heal  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him 
up."  Paul  earnestly  prays  in  behalf  of  his  countrymen, 
and  often  assures  the  churches  to  which  he  writes,  that  he 
never  forgets  them  in  his  addresses  at  the  throne  of  grace. 

It  tlms  appears  that,  among  the  good  services  which  men 
are  made  to  render  to  one  another,  this  of  intercession 
stands  prominent  and  conspicuous.  As  they  are  bound  to 
"  do  good  as  they  have  opportunity,"  so  they  are  taught  that 
they  have  an  opportunity,  whenever  they  hold  communion 
with  their  heavenly  Father. 

If  it  be  so  witii  all;  if  every  righteous  man  have  this 
privilege  ;  if  the  ear  of  the  Almighty  be  thus  open  to  the 
cry  of  every  benevolent  heart,  —  how  much  more  must  it  be 
so  to  the  voice  of  his  chosen,  his  anointed,  his  dearly-be- 
loved Son  !  If  this  be  a  means  of  cultivating  benevolence 
and  dispensing  favor  in  the  hands  of  all  his  children,  hovr 
peculiarly  must  it  be  so  in  7i/s  hands,  to  whom  the  great 
work  of  love  was  appointed,  and  whose  desire  of  man's 
happiness  is  so  earnest  and  extensive !  How  must  his 
heart,  overflowing  with  that  love  which  passeth  knowledge 
delight  to  pour  itself  out  before  the  seat  of  his  Father's 
mercy,  in  petitions  of  grace  for  the  erring,  of  pardon  for 
the  penitent,  of  strength  for  the  weak,  of  aid  for  the 
tempted  !  How  must  he  delight  to  add  to  all  other  demon- 
strations of  interest  in  their  souls'  well-being,  this  of  a 
tender  recollection  of  them  in  his  prayers ! 

Consider   how   it  was  during  his  residence  upon  earth. 


JESUS    THE    INTERCESSOR.  1)9 

Several  of  his  prayers  are  recorded  in  the  Gospels,  and 
among  them  are  prayers  of  intercession.  "  The  enemy  hath 
<lesired  you,"  said  he  to  Peter,  "  that  he  may  sift  you  as 
wheat  ;  and  I  have  prayed  for  thie,  that  thy  faith  may  not 
fail."  He  prayed  particularly  for  Peter,  because  his  ardor 
and  raslincss  exposed  him  to  especial  peril.  When  stretched 
upon  the  cross,  he  prayed  for  his  enemies  ;  and  before  that 
scene  of  suffering  began,  he  poured  out  his  soul  in  the  most 
aftectionate  strain  of  supplication  for  his  chosen  disciples. 
This,  his  longest,  his  most  striking  act  of  devotion,  was  al- 
most exclusively  an  act  of  intercession.  He  appeared  as 
their  Advocate  before  the  Father.  He  pleaded  for  them  with 
earnest  and  profound  feeling;  appearing  to  concentrate  the 
whole  strength  and  tenderness  of  his  disinterested  love  in 
this  official  act  of  friendly  intercession. 

Will  any  one  suppose  that  his  ardent  devotion  to  the  in- 
terests of  his  followers  and  the  church  expired  when  he 
left  them  in  the  world  ?  that  he  no  longer  cared  for  tiiem, 
when  he  had  ascended  from  their  sight,  nor  took  concern 
in  their  improvement,  purity,  and  peace  ?  Or  will  any  one 
imagine  that  he  no  longer  possessed  the  privilege  of  inter- 
ceding with  his  Father?  that,  when  risen  to  his  glory,  the 
liberty  and  efficacy  of  this  benevolent  act  were  taken  from 
him  ?  It  cannot  be.  It  were  not  possible  that  he  should 
have  changed  his  feelings,  and  lost  his  solicitude  for  that 
work  in  which  he  had  lived  and  died,  suffered  and  triumphed, 
been  humbled  and  glorified.  Neither  could  it  be  possible 
that  he,  who  watched  over  and  instructed  his  growing 
church,  and  sought  for  it  God's  choice  blessing,  to  the  very 
moment  when  the  cloud  received  him  from  human  sight, 
should,  from  that  moment,  have  ceased  to  plead  its  cause  in 
the  presence  of  that  God  to  whom  he  had  ascended. 

The   representations  of  the  New  Testament  confirm  this 


100  JESUS    THE    INTERCESSOR. 

idea.  It  is  very  evident,  from  them,  that,  during  the  apos- 
tolic age  —  that  is,  until  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and 
tlie  extinction  of  the  Jewish  polity,  —  our  Lord  did  continue 
to  manifest  an  active  and  personal  interest  in  the  concerns 
of  his  followers  and  the  prosperity  of  his  church.  "  Lo,  I 
am  with  you  always,"  said  he,  "  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world;"  by  which  we  understand  what  the  term  so  fre- 
quently means  in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  the  end  of  the 
Jewish  world,  the  close  of  the  Jewish  age,  or  dispensation. 
That  this  promise  was  fulfilled  by  his  actual  occasional  pres- 
ence with  them,  is  manifest  from  several  passages.  He  ap- 
peared personally  to  Paul  for  his  conversion.  He  seems  af- 
terwards to  have  appeared  to  him  on  other  occasions.  And 
there  are  frequent  intimations,  that  the  disciples  received 
from  him  direction  and  counsel,  in  a  manner  wholly  unknown 
in  later  times,  after  the  infant  church  had  obtained  a  firm 
footing  in  the  world.  All  the  aid  which  he  thus  vouchsafed 
to  his  struggling  and  suffering  followers  was  in  furtherance 
of  that  magnificent  design  to  which  he  had  devoted  himself 
And  can  we  then  suppose  that  it  ceased  to  hold  a  place  in 
his  near  and  unceasing  communion  with  God  ?  Is  it  not 
most  consistent  and  reasonable  to  believe  that  he,  who  had 
so  magnanimously  consecrjited  himself  to  this  holy  cause, 
and  been  its  advocate  in  one  sphere,  should  continue  to  be 
its  advocate  in  another  sphere  ?  Is  it  not  most  agreeable  to 
ail  our  conceptions  of  the  benevolence  and  devotion  of  Jesus, 
to  believe  thnt  the  apostle  states  the  literal  fact,  when  he 
says  in  our  text,  that  he  who  died  for  us,  and  rose  again, 
and  is  at  God's  right  hand,  also  makes  intercession  for  us  1 
Should  we  not  expect  to  find  that,  as  he  "  ever  lives,"  so  he 
"  ever  makes  intercession"  ? 

Still,  however,  objections   may   arise   to  the  doctrine  thus 


JESUS    THE    INTERCESSOR.  101 

Stated.  Some  of  these  it  was  our  second  purpose  to  con- 
sider. 

II.  1.  The  first  objection  which  occurs  to  me  as  likely  to 
be  made  to  these  statements,  arises  from  a  general  feeling 
of  incredulity  in  regard  to  what  does  not  come  within  the 
limits  of  actual  personal  knowledge.  We  are  not  easily 
brought  to  conceive  that  the  employment  of  beings  in  the 
invisible  world  can  have  any  near  connection  with  us,  or 
our  lot  be  a  matter  of  knowledge  or  interest  to  them.  And 
hence  we  are  inclined  to  receive  with  a  certain  hesitating 
incredulity  the  idea  that  Jesus  intercedes  for  us  in  heaven. 

This  seems  to  me  to  be  owing  to  our  too  much  dividing 
this  world  in  our  thoughts  from  the  coming  state.  We  are 
so  engrossed  with  present  things,  that  we  regard  the  visible 
and  invisible  states  not  only  as  separate,  but  altogether  dis- 
tinct and  unconnected.  This  is  doubtless  an  error;  and  the 
removal  of  this  would  remove  all  ditliculty  on  this  account 
—  a  dilBculty  arising  from  false  associations  of  feeling, 
rather  than  from  any  well-grounded  reason. 

For  we  are  to  reflect,  that,  in  truth,  the  connection  be- 
tween these  states  is  most  red  and  intimate,  the  one  being  a 
continuation  of  the  life  commenced  in  the  other.  Now, 
there  is  this  essential  dilTerence  between  the  condition  of 
us,  who  remain  upon  earth,  and  the  spirits  of  those  who  have 
departed  to  the  unseen  state.  Their  condition  we  have 
never  experienced  nor  witnessed ;  and  therefore  we  cannot 
fully  understand  its  character  nor  sympathize  in  it.  It  is  to 
us  the  untravelled  region  of  imagination  and  hope,  of  which 
we  have  heard  that  it  is,  but  have  not  seen  what  it  is.  But 
with  our  condition,  they,  on  the  contrary,  are  familiarly  ac- 
quainted ;  they  h:ive  once  taken  part  in  it ;  they  know  the 
feelings,  the  omplovinents,  the  exposures,  the  pleasures,  the 
trials,  of  eartlilv  existence  ;  they  can  enter  into  all  the  joys 
9* 


102  JESUS    THE    INTERCESSOR.  * 

and  sorrows,  hopes  and  fears,  anxieties  and  raptures,  of  their 
friends  below.  Although,  therefore,  we,  from  our  inexpe- 
rience and  ignorance,  may  seem  to  be  utterly  disconnected 
from  them,  and  from  all  concern  or  sympathy  with  them, 
yet  they,  who  have  been  so  recently  dwellers  upon  earth, 
must  still  feel  that  they  are  not  wholly  severed  from  us. 
They  must  still  have  a  lively  recollection  of  what  passed  and 
affected  them  in  this  important  abode  of  their  probation  ; 
must  still  take  an  interest  in  the  scenes  and  the  friends 
which  they  have  left ;  must  be  desirous  to  promote,  if  pos- 
sible, their  welfare,  and  anxious  to  avert  from  them  evil.  It 
is  as  if  they  had  gone  to  a  distant  continent,  whence  their 
hearts  still  run  back  to  family  and  home,  and  rejoice  in  tid- 
ings from  the  land  that  they  loved. 

We  cannot  view  this  matter  differently,  unless  we  suppose, 
either  that  the  memory  of  this  first  period  of  life  is  blotted 
out  from  the  soul  at  death,  or  else  that  the  affections  are  so 
changed  as  to  become  at  once  indifferent  to  all  that  they 
knew  and  cherished  here.  But  we  cannot  indulge  either 
supposition.  Every  thing  that  is  taught  us  respecting  a  fu- 
ture life  gives  the  assurance,  that  there  is  a  close  connection 
between  that  and  the  present ;  that  that,  in  truth,  is  a  direct 
continuance  of  this  ;  linked  intimately  to  it  by  the  conse- 
quences of  action  and  character  which  follow  from  this  world 
to  that.  There  can,  then,  be  no  obliteration  of  the  memory. 
To  a  state  of  retribution  the  recollection  of  the  past  state  of 
duty  is  essential.  For  there  could  be  no  just  punishment  of 
sins  of  which  the  sufferer  is  not  in  some  sense  conscious, 
and  no  righteous  recompense  of  services  which  are  not  in 
some  sense  remembered.  Besides,  it  is  plain  that  nothing 
but  an  express  and  arbitrary  act  of  omnipotence  could  blot 
the  memory  of  past  existence  from  the  soul  —  an  act  which 


JESOS    THE    INTERCESSOR.  103 

Wfe  have  not  the  slightest  reason  or  autliority  to  warrant  us 
in  supposing. 

Neither--  h;ive  we  any  ground  for  supposing  any  supernat- 
ural chunge  in  the  affections  at  that  moment.  Man,  risen 
from  death,  is  still  man  —  the  same  man,  so  far  as  regards 
his  character,  feelings,  and  affections,  that  he  was  when  he 
fell  asleep.  If  these  he  not  the  same,  his  personal  identity 
is  gone.  Adinilted  to  the  joys  of  lieavon,  he  still  must  he 
conscious  that  he  has  just  quitted  the  society  of  earth,  and 
must  have  a  desire  that  tho.se  whom  he  loved  hclow  should 
he  united  with  him  above  —  a  desire  stronger  than  ever,  we 
should  think,  because  heightened  by  an  actual  sen.se  of 
heavenly  felicity.  If  our  Savior  represents  the  selfish  rich 
man  as  anxious  that  his  brethren  might  not  come  to  the 
same  place  of  torment,  how  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
good  —  who  were  less  selfish  and  more  attached  to  their 
earthly  friends  —  should  be  solicitous  that  those  friends 
should  come  to  the  same  place  of  bliss;  and,  though  tliey 
might  not  be  able  to  send  them  a  messenger  from  Abraham's 
bosom,  yet  should  seek,  by  prayer  at  least,  to  obtain  for 
them  the  blessing. 

There  is,  therefore,  no  good  rea.son  for  that  distinction  of 
ititerests  which  we  are  so  apt  to  imagine  placed  between 
the  two  states.  We  deceive  ourselves,  because  we  have 
never  experienced  the  nearness  of  the  connection.  We 
should  reflect  that  the  inmates  of  the  other  Vorld  have  expe- 
rienced it.  If  we  would,  in  imagination,  exchange  places 
with  them,  and  consider  with  what  feelings  we  should  look 
hack  upon  this  spot  of  our  infant  being,  we  should  under- 
stand how  close  is  the  tie  which  bii»ds  together  the  invisible 
and  visible  worlds,  and  how  strongly  it  is  felt  by  them, 
though  so  little  realized  by  us.  We  should  be  persuaded 
that   their    thou<Thts   and  affections  still  run  back  to  former 


104  JESUS    THE    INTERCESSOR. 

scenes  and  friends,  and  that  the  prayers  of  heaven,  where 
angels  rejoice  over  penitent  sinners,  do  not  forget  to  men- 
tion the  friends  of  earth.  We,  then,  instead  of  the  cold,  in- 
credulous assent  which  we  now  give  to  the  doctrine  of 
Christ's  intercession,  should  feel  that  nothing  could  be  more 
natural  or  more  agreeable  to  his  character  and  office.  If 
our  fellow-men  carry  with  them  the  recollections  of  earth, 
and  the  desire  to  benefit  their  friends,  how  much  more 
must  He,  the  whole  object  of  whose  life  was  to  fit  men  for 
that  world  :  who  left  upon  earth  a  mighty  work  but  just 
commenced ;  who  left  the  church  he  had  just  founded 
struorgling  for  its  existence,  and  the  dearest  desires  of  whose 
heart  can  be  accomplished  only  by  its  growth  and  prosper- 
ity !  The  work  which  he  began  is  still  going  on,  as  impor- 
tant, as  interesting,  as  glorious,  as  ever.  He  cannot  be  sep)- 
arated  from  it.  However  others  might  be  able  to  forget  all 
their  labors  and  objects  of  interest  on  earth,  it  cannot  be  so 
with  the  Messiah  ;  for  heaven  and  eternity  are  interested  in 
them.  However  to  others  the  two  states  might  become  dis- 
tinct and  separate,  to  him  they  could  never  be  so.  For  what 
his  truth  has  begun  to  effect  here,  is  going  on  to  its  com- 
pletion there.  It  is  only  by  knowing  its  whole  progress, 
that  he  can  "  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied." 
He  cannot  cease  to  care  for  it,  to  be  engaged  for  it,  and  to 
speak  of  it  in  the  everlasting  communion  which  he  holds 
with  his  Father.  He  cannot  be  unconcerned  for  any  spirit 
here,  which  he  hopes  to  welcome  to  glory  there. 

2.  Another  objection  to  this  doctrine  may  be,  tliat  no 
consequences  are  discernible.  If  Jesus  were  truly  inter- 
ceding for  men,  we  should  perceive  its  effects  in  their  con- 
version and  subjection  to  him.  His  religion  would  not  be 
so  slighted,  its  extension  would  not  be  so  limited.  But  as 
it  has  spread  so  imperfectly,  and  so  many  who  have  received 


JESUS    THE    INTERCESSOR.  105 

are  yet  so  little  affected  by  it,  it  is  not  easy  to  believe 
that  Jesus  has  been  actually  employing  so  ellicieiit  means. 

This  objection  proceeds  upon  the  supposition  that  the 
intercession  of  the  Mediator  must  necessarily  be  all-prevail- 
ing;  that  such  must  of  course  be  its  virtue,  as  to  occasion 
at  once  the  perfect  accomplishment  of  his  great  work.  But 
we  have  no  authority  for  such  a  supposition.  It  is  without 
sutficient  reason  or  warrant  that  we  fancy  the  Deity  pledged 
to  grant  immediately,  unreservedly,  and  perceptibly,  the 
petitions  of  the  intercessor. 

It  is  true,  when  our  Lord  uttered  his  prayer  at  the  tomb 
of  Lazarus,  he  said,  "  I  know  thai  thou  hearest  nie  always." 
lie  had  asked  for  permission  to  exercise  his  power  in  rais- 
ing his  friend  from  tlio  dead,  and  he  gave  thanks  that  it  was 
granted  :  "  Father,  I  thank  tliee  that  thou  hast  heard  me." 
But  this,  it  is  plain,  refers  only  to  his  power  of  working  mir- 
acles on  earth.  And  it  nmst  be  observed  that  there  is  a 
great  difference  between  such  operations  on  the  bodies  of 
men,  and  the  influence  of  religion  on  their  souls.  The 
souls  of  men  are  subject  only  to  a  moral  influence.  There 
can  be  no  reformation  or  holiness  by  compulsion.  Refor- 
mation and  holiness  come  only  through  the  operation  of 
truth,  by  motive,  argument,  persuasion.  These  are  the 
means  which  God  has  established  in  the  world,  and  which 
Jesus  came  to  bring.  And  if  his  intercession  should  have 
the  effect  to  work  a  miracle  in  every  heart,  it  would  be  to 
supersede  at  once,  and  render  useless,  all  those  extensive 
means,  which,  with  so  great  pains  and  cost,  have  been  in- 
stituted for  man's  salvation.  But  it  plainly  cannot  be  de- 
signed to  interfere  with  and  frustrate,  but  only  to  aid,  that 
vast  and  gracious  system;  and  therefore  thi«  objection  — 
which  simply  amounts  to  this,  that  it  has  not  overturned  the 


l06  JliSUS    THE    INTKRCESSOK. 

whole  provision  of  moral  means  in  the  Christian  dispensa- 
tion —  is  entirely  destitute  of  weight. 

Indeed,  the  objection  might  be  urged  quite  as  plausibly 
against  the  whole  system  of  revelation  itself.  It  is  an  obvi- 
ous fact,  that  revelation  does  not  accomplish  the  whole  of 
that  extensive  good  which  it  was  designed  to  effect.  The 
gospel  was  sent  into  the  world  to  abolish  the  empire  of  sin, 
and  establish  the  prevalence  of  holiness.  Yet  it  has  never 
done  it.  The  dominion  of  sin  is  still  powerful  and  exten- 
sive, and  multitudes  live  and  die  without  righteousness  or 
religion.  This  is  true  even  of  the  Christian  world ;  how 
much  more  true  of  the  whole  world  !  Now,  we  might  quite 
as  safely  reason,  that  the  gospel  has  not  been  announced, 
because  we  do  not  witness  its  promised  perfect  operation,  as 
that  Jesus  does  not  intercede,  because  we  do  not  witness 
what  we  should  suppose  to  be  the  complete  efficacy  of  such 
intercession.  The  truth  is,  that  nothing  at  present  has  its 
full  and  perfect  effect.  Every  thing  is  in  tendency,  rather 
than  in  result.  The  design  and  tendency  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Providence  are  to  happiness ;  yet  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  unhappiness.  But  this  unhappiness  is  no  objection 
to  a  thoughtful  mind  against  the  benevolent  tendency  of  the 
system. 

Besides ;  the  objection  we  are  considering  adopts  the 
very  inadmissible  supposition,  that  we  are  acquainted  with 
all  the  results  of  our  Lord's  intercessory  labors ;  that  we 
actually  know  how  far  they  avail,  and  where  they  cease  to 
avail ;  whereas,  in  truth,  we  know  nothing  about  it,  and 
can  know  nothing.  How  can  we  tell  that  many  favors  and 
deliverances,  which  we  least  suspect,  and  of  whose  existence 
even  we  know  nothing,  are  not  owing  to  this  very  circum- 
stance? How  can  we  tell,  if  this  were  to  cease,  what  would 
be  the  diminution  of  the  general  influence  of  religion,  and 


JESUS    THE    INTERCESSOR.  107 

•P  its  peace  and  joy  in  our  own  breasts  ?  From  the  nature 
of  the  case,  we  must  necessarily  be  profoundly  ignorant  in 
regard  to  all  particulars.  It  is  much  the  same  as  in  regard 
to  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  We  know  that  it  avails  —  that 
"  the  fervent,  effectual  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  avails 
much."  But  who  can  tell  in  precisely  what  instances,  and 
to  what  extent  ?  We  have  the  public  institutions  and  or- 
dinances of  our  faith  operating  in  the  midst  of  us,  and 
within  the  sphere  of  our  constant  observation.  Yet  we  are 
wholly  unable  to  estimate  the  extent  and  determine  the 
limits  of  their  influence.  Many  persons  profess  that  they 
are  unable  to  discern  it  in  any  degree.  It  were,  therefore, 
to  be  expected  that  the  operation  of  our  Lord's  intercession 
would  be  imperceptible.  It  might  be  great  and  powerful, 
and  yet  we  be  altogether  unable  to  detect  it. 

3.  Another  objection  to  the  doctrine  may  be,  that  it  oper- 
ates against  the  character  of  the  Supreme  Father,  It  seems 
to  imply  that  he  is  less  disposed  to  show  favor  to  his  chil- 
dren, and  that  he  needs  to  be  solicited  and  persuaded  by 
some  being  more  benevolent  than  himself 

This  objection  is  grounded  entirely  in  misapprehension, 
as  will  be  evident  from  considering  what  I  proposed  as  the 
third  head  of  discourse. 

III.  The  purpose  to  be  answered  by  the  intercession  of 
Jesus. 

The  objection  just  named  supposes  this  purpose  to  be,  to 
change  the  dispositions  of  God  from  wrath  to  favor,  and  ren- 
der him  willing,  or  induce  him,  to  be  kind  to  his  offspring. 
Now,  if  this  were  the  purpose,  the  objection  would  be  in- 
superable against  the  doctrine,  since  it  would  contradict  the 
whole  testimony  of  the  Scriptures  concerning  the  character 
of  God.  For,  although  his  di-;pleasure  against  sin  is  un- 
questionable and  severe,  yet  n-jthinnr   is   more  certain  than 


108  JESnS    THE    OTERCESSOR 

that  his  disposition  toward  his  creatures  is  that  of  a  father 
—  is  love,  grace,  antecedent  to  any  solicitation,  independ- 
ent of  all  external  causes.  The  objection  is,  indeed,  valid 
against  any  notion  of  intercession  or  mediation,  which 
should  attribute  to  it  the  production  of  such  a  disposition ; 
which  should  suppose,  for  example,  a  perpetual  contest 
going  on  between  Jesus  the  Advocate  and  God  the  Judge, 
in  which  the  one  insists  on  the  extreme  penalty  of  the  law, 
and  the  other  pleads,  that,  having  already  endured  it  him- 
self, it  should  not  be  again  visited  on  the  offenders ;  or 
such  views  as  are  sometimes  given  by  Watts  in  his  hymns  :  — 

"  Rich  were  the  drops  of  Jesus'  blood, 
That  calmed  God's  frowning  face  ; 
That  sprinkled  o'er  the  burning  throne, 
And  turned  the  wrath  to  grace." 

But  the  doctrine,  which  I  have  stated,  is  not  liable  to  the 
objection  which  rightfully  lies  against  such  representations 
as  this.  It  ascribes  no  such  purpose  to  the  work  of  Christ, 
for  it  does  not  admit  any  such  to  be  needed.  It  stands  on 
the  same  foundation  with  the  dt)ctrine  of  prayer.  It  pre- 
supposes that  God  is  gracious,  does  not  undertake  to  render 
him  so.  It  is  the  appointed  means  by  which  his  grace, 
already  abundant  and  active,  is  sought  and  bestowed.  If  I 
beseech  God  to  grant  a  daily  blessing,  it  is  not  because  I 
imagine  him  indisposedao  bestow  it,  and  needing  to  be  per- 
suaded to  do  it ;  but  for  just  the  contrary  reason,  that  he  is 
disposed  J  and  it  is  suitable  and  becoming  in  me,  dependent 
as  I  am,  to  apply  to  him,  acknowledging  my  dependence 
and  need ;  besides  that  he  has  commanded  it,  as  a  means 
of  obtaining  blessing.  So  also,  if  I  offer  petitions  in  behalf 
of  a  friend,  it  is  for  the  very  reason  that  I  know  Go<l  to  be 
disposed  to  bless,  and  to  have  appointed  this  as  one  means 
of  procuring  favor.     It  is  suitable,  too,  and  becoming,  thai 


JESDS    THE    INTERCESSOR.  109 

his  children  should  in  this  way  express  and  exercise  their 
good  feelings  toward  each  other.  It  is  part  of  that  vast 
connected  system  of  benevolence  and  mutual  improvement, 
which  has  already  been  referred  to.  We  regard  our  Lord's 
intercession  as  a  part  of  the  same  system.  He  appears  at 
the  throne  of  grace  in  behalf  of  his  friends  —  not  because 
God  needs  to  be  entreated  and  rendered  willing  to  grant 
blessing ;  but  because,  already  waiting  to  be  gracious,  he 
has  appointed  this  method  of  dispensing  blessing.  It  is 
also  suitable  and  becoming,  that  He,  who  is  the  head  of  the 
church,  and  whom  God  sent  to  "  lead  many  sons  to  glory," 
should  in  this  way  express  his  care  for  them,  and  his  inter- 
est in  them,  and  be  the  means  of  procuring  for  them  that 
felicity  for  which  he  labored  and  died. 

Precisely  what  we  owe  to  it,  the  exact  nature  and  extent 
of  the  aid,  strength,  favor,  which  may  be  thus  communi- 
cated to  believers,  it  is  not  possible  for  us  to  know.  But 
that  it  is  something  real  and  great,  we  have  no  right  to 
doubt.  We  cannot  precisely  ascertain  how  much  or  what 
we  owe  to  our  prayers,  or  wherein  human  intercessions 
avail.  The  Christian  poet  has  said,  speaking  of  the  humble 
piety  of  the  retired  man,  who  lives  unheeded  by  the  world,  — 

"  Porliaps  she  owes 
iler  sunshine  and  lior  rain,  her  blooming  spring 
And  plenteous  iiarvests,  to  tlie  prayer  he  makes, 
When,  Isaac-like,  the  solitary  saint 
Walks  forth  to  meditate  at  eventide, 
And  think  on  her  who  thinks  not  of  herself."  —  Cowpkr. 

So  also  the  Cliristian,  perhaps,  owes  much  of  the  efficacy 
of  his  faith,  and  the  serenity  of  his  spirit,  the  peace  and  joy 
which  he  has  in  believing,  his  deliverance  in  temptation, 
and  his  consolation  in  trouble,  and  whatever  holy  inlluencea 
he  nny  rejoice  in,  to  the  intercession  of  his  Lord.  At  any 
10 


110  JESUS    THK    INTERCESSOK. 

rate,  one  consequence  is  certain.  The  doctrine  has  a  ten^ 
dency  to  excite  gratitude,  and  to  promote  the  growth  of 
religious  affections.  To  believe  that  we  are  thought  of  in 
heaven;  that  our  benevolent  and  truest  Friend  there  takes 
an  interest  in  us ;  that  the  gracious  Father  of  our  spirits 
has  appointed  that  mention  shall  be  continually  made  of  the 
infirmities,  the  trials,  the  penitence,  the  temptations,  the 
sorrows  of  his  children  —  so  that  their  state  may  never  be 
forgotten,  and  that  angels  may  rejoice  in  their  welfare  ;  to 
believe  this,  must  strongly  conduce  to  excite  devout  and 
grateful  affections,  to  make  us  feel  that  we  have  to  do  with 
something  better  than  the  follies  and  sins  of  time,  to  make 
us  realize  that  we  are  immortal,  and  ought  to  be  holy,  and 
to  bring  us,  humble,  rejoicing,  confiding,  to  the  throne  of 
mercy,  consecrated  to  his  service  who  has  loved  us  with  an 
everlasting  love. 

This  is  what  may  be  called  the  moral  efficacy  of  the  doc- 
trine; and  may  lead  us  to  consider,  as  was  in  the  last  place 
proposed, 

IV.    The  practical  uses  of  the  subject. 

These,  to  one  who  is  persuaded  of  its  truth,  cannot  be 
slight.  If  we  know  that  some  valued  friend,  whose  heart  is 
one  with  us,  and  who  earnestly  desires  our  good,  makes  it 
one  of  the  offices  of  his  devotion  to  mention  us  affectionately 
before  God  and  implore  his  benediction  upon  us,  who  of  us 
can  fail  to  be  touched  by  such  an  act  of  friendship  ?  Who 
would  not  be  led  to  strive  that  he  might  be  worthy  of  the 
prayers  thus  presented,  and  not  forfeit  the  blessings  thus  im- 
plored ?  The  great  ajjostle  to  tlie  Gentiles  frequently  re- 
minds his  brethren  that  "  always,  in  all  his  prayers,  he 
makes  mention  of  them  before  God."  How  likelv  was  this 
to  impress  them  with  an  affectionate  and  holy  awe  !  lh)w 
solicitous  must  it  have  rendered  them   to  reward   his   kind- 


JESUS    THE    INTERCESSOR.  HI 

ness,  and  not  to  provoke  the  displeasure  of  that  gracious 
Being  to  wlioin  they  were  commended  !  And  who  can 
doubt,  that,  in  all  succeeding  ages  of  the  church,  multitudes 
of  souls  have  been  impressed  and  won  by  the  reflection, 
that  their  minister  remembered  them  daily  and  nightly  in 
his  prayers;  that,  when  thoughtless  of  themselves,  he  had 
not  ceased  to  be  concerned  for  them ;  and  that  his  friendly 
intercessions  for  them,  if  despised  and  neglected  on  their 
part,  would  rise  up  to  their  shame  and  condemnation  at  last? 
How  often,  also,  has  the  minister,  amid  the  toils  and  anxie- 
ties, the  tri;ds  and  disappointments,  attendant  on  his  labors, 
been  comforted  by  the  assurance  that  the  faithful  of  his 
flock  are  bearing  him  up  in  their  prayers  at  the  mercy-seat ; 
that,  in  sympathy  and  love,  they  implore  for  him  that  aid 
and  guidance,  which  only  can  support  and  cheer  1  This  as- 
surance is  balm  to  his  spirit.  It  gives  him  animation  and 
confidence,  and  makes  his  heavy  burdens  light.  If,  then, 
Christians  would  but  realize  that  He  who  is  more  than  a 
friend,  more  than  a  pastor,  —  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  the 
faith  which  gives  them  life,  — "  who  died  for  them,  and  rose 
again,  and  is  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  God,"  —  who  will 
come  again  to  judgment  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  from 
whose  own  voice  they  hope  to  receive  a  welcome  to  the  joys 
of  their  Lord,  —  that  he  "  makes  intercession  for  them  ;  "  — 
how  powerfully  might  it  operate  to  inspirit  their  devotion,  to 
excite  their  zeal,  to  quicken  their  improvement,  to  console 
them  in  trouble,  to  encourage  them  when  doubtful  and  de- 
sponding ! 

Let  us  seek  to  secure  to  ourselves  this  good  influence. 
When  we  raise  our  desires  to  Him  from  whom  cometh  our 
help,  it  may  warm  and  animate  us  to  remember  that  we 
have  an  "  Advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  right- 


112  JE6VS    THE    INTEECESSOK, 

eous."  Offered  through  him,  as  the  appointed  way  to  the 
Father,  our  prayers  cannot  be  frustrated  nor  lost. 

The  same  thought  may  help  to  make  us  watchful.  If  we 
have  an  habitual  persuasion  that  our  virtue  and  salvation  are 
anxiously  desired  by  our  Lord,  we  cannot  fail  to  be  more 
anxious  for  tliem  ourselves,  and  to  watch  for  them  dili- 
gently. If  Peter  had  borne  humbly  in  mind  his  Master's 
words,  —  Simon,  I  have  prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail 
not,"  — he  would  have  been  earnestly  on  his  guard,  and  not 
have  fallen.  But  he  forgot  it,  and  his  faith  failed.  So  may 
ours  fail,  if  we  will  not  secure  it  by  the  grateful  recollection 
of  what  is  still  done  in  our  behalf 

We  may  find  this  persuasion  of  particular  worth  to  us  in 
times  of  temptation,  sorrow,  and  spiritual  despondency. 
When  we  deeply  feel  our  weakness  and  insufficiency,  when 
the  world  is  dark,  and  our  hearts  are  gloomy,  and  peace 
seems  departed,  then  we  may  find  in  this  doctrine  a  sooth- 
ing and  strengthening  power.  We  lean  upon  the  compas- 
sion of  one,  who  "  was  in  all  points  tempted  as  we  are," 
and  was  "  made  perfect  through  suffering."  We  feel  secure 
of  sympathy  from  Ilim  who  suffered  for  us  in  his  humilia- 
tion, and  does  not  forget  us  now  that  he  is  exalted ;  and 
while  we  meditate  and  pray,  the  cloud  is  gradually  removed, 
and  we  are  restored  to  the  brightness  and  calmness  of  spir- 
itual peace. 


SERMON    IX. 


CHRIST   THE  JUDGE   OF   THE   WORLD. 

JOHN    V.  22. 

FOR  THE    FATHER  JUUGETIl    NO    MAN,   BUT   HATH   COMMITTED   ALL 
JUDGMENT   TO    THE   SOX 

Our  knowledge  of  the  character  and  dispensations  of  God 
is  derived  from  two  sources  —  his  works  and  his  word  ;  each 
of  them  addressed  to  and  interpreted  by  our  understanding. 
His  works  —  by  which  we  mean  the  whole  constitution  of 
nature,  so  far  as  exposed  to  the  view  and  investigation  of 
man — olTer  the  most  convincing  proofs  of  the  existence, 
perfections,  and  agency  of  the  omnipresent  Spirit,  and  afford 
instructions,  to  a  certain  extent,  clear  and  unquestionable, 
concerning  his  will  and  purposes.  This  is  the  religion  of 
nature.  His  word  contains  the  religion  of  revelation;  a 
more  complete  discovery  of  his  perfections  and  government, 
and  comprising  information  respecting  his  designs  and  law, 
of  which  his  works  teach  nothing.  Especially  in  what  re- 
gards the  final  purposes  of  God  respecting  the  human  race, 
and  the  mode  in  which  they  shall  be  accomplished,  revela- 
tion unfolds  what  reason  could  never  have  gathered  from  na- 
ture. That  there  is  a  God,  and  that  he  rules  the  universe, 
"  all  Nature  cries  aloud  througlj  all  her  works."  "  That  he 
10* 


114  CHKIST    THE    JUDGE    OF    THE    WORLD. 

delights  in  virtue,"  is  also  evinced  by  the  law  written  on  the 
heart.  But  of  the  great  purpose  of  the  present  administra- 
tion, of  the  final  issue  of  this  state  of  things,  and  the  destiny 
which  awaits  man  at  the  close  of  his  mortal  career,  nothing 
is  taught  with  certainty,  and  little  can  be  even  distinctly 
conjectured,  from  the  intimations  of  nature  around  us,  or 
the  working  of  reason  within  us.  What  is  known  upon 
these  points  is  derived  from  revelation.  There  we  learn 
distinctly  the  objects  of  our  existence,  the  intentions  of  our 
Maker  concerning  us,  the  means  of  securing  his  favor,  the 
certainty  of  another  life,  and  the  true  way  to  avoid  its  mis- 
ery and  insure  its  bliss.  The  important  mysteries  of  the 
divine  administration  are  laid  open  before  us  —  "even  that 
mystery  which  was  kept  secret  since  the  world  began,  but 
is  now  made  manifest  by  the  writings  of  the  prophets, 
according  to  the  commandment  of  the  everlasting  God." 

These  Scriptures  especially  teach  —  what  the  works  of 
God  could  never  tell  us  —  by  what  agency  and  through 
whose  intervention  the  eternal  benefits  of  divine  grace  are 
offered  and  secured  to  man.  They  alone  unfold  the  offices 
of  the  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  who  brings  the  in- 
structions and  promises  of  a  new  covenant,  and  announces 
the  peculiar  relations  and  duties  thence  arising.  All  this, 
however,  although  not  recorded  in  the  volume  of  nature,  is 
yet  consistent  with  whatever  that  volume  teaches.  The  dis- 
pensing of  grace  by  Jesus  Christ  is  an  arrangement  of  the 
divine  will  altogether  analogous  to  the  other  dispensations 
of  God.  It  is  conformable  to  all  that  we  discern  of  the 
uniform  and  general  i)r<)cedure  of  Providence.  Every  thing 
in  the  universe  is  conducted  through  the  ministration  of 
subordinate  agents.  God  bestows  existence,  and  supports  it, 
not  by  his  own  direct  action,  but  through  intermediate 
agency.      He  guides   and   rules,  dispenses   favor  and  mani- 


CHRIST    THE    JUDGE    OF    THE    WORLD.  115 

fests  displeasure,  by  the  operation  of  second  causes,  inter- 
posed between  himself  and  his  children.  All  things  are  his 
ministers  and  messengers  to  his  ofispring,  in  which  and 
through  which  he  is  manifested,  and  they  are  his  ministers 
and  messengers  to  one  another.  It  is  one  vast  and  unbroken 
system  of  mediation,  ministration. 

In  perfect  conformity  to  this,  when  he  would  establish 
among  men  the  way  of  salvation,  and  bring  them  to  ever- 
lasting life,  he  sent  to  them  a  Mediator,  who  should  exe- 
cute all  which  might  be  necessary  to  fulfil  the  purposes  of 
the  new  dispensation,  and  be  the  head  and  prince  of  God's 
spiritual  kingdom. 

In  order  to  the  complete  accomplishment  of  this  exten- 
sive work,  the  Scriptures  inform  us  that  the  authority  of 
Judge  is  given  to  him  ;  that  he,  who  oversees  and  guides 
the  whole  progress  of  the  great  spiritual  kingdom  among 
men,  and  is  in  God's  ste.id  to  carry  it  forward  to  its  con- 
summation, is  also  to  be  the  final  distributer  of  its  awards. 
To  this  effect  our  text  contains  an  express  assertion  —  "  The 
Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all  judgment  to 
the  Son."  This  is  repeated  further  on  —  "  lie  hatli  given 
him  authority  to  execute  judgment  also,  because  he  is  the 
Son  of  man."  The  same  is  implied  in  several  of  our  Lord's 
parables,  and  especially  in  that  which  describes  him  as 
coming  in  the  clouds,  with  the  angels  and  glory  of  his 
Father,  "  to  separate  the  evil  from  the  good,  as  a  shepherd 
divides  the  sheep' from  the  goats."  The  apostle  Paul  says, 
"  We  must  all  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ." 
In  his  address  to  the  Athenians,  he  stated,  in  express  terms, 
"  that  God  has  appointed  a  day  in  which  he  will  judge  the 
world  in  righteousness,  by  that  Man  whom  he  hath  or- 
dained." Peter  also,  addressing  Cornelius,  "  testified,  that 
it  is  he  who  is  ordained  of  God  to  be  tlie  judge  of  quick 


116  CHRIST    THE    JUDGE    OF    THE    WORLD. 

and  dead  ;  "  an  expression  which  he  repeats  in  his  first 
epistle,  and  which  Paul  uses  in  his  second  epistle  to 
Timothy.* 

These  passages  decide  what  is  the  doctrine  of  the  New 
Testament  on  this  point.  It  has  been  the  acknowledged 
doctrine  of  the  church  in  all  its  divisions.  It  may  have  been 
under^itood  in  senses  somewhat  various,  but  in  some  sense  it 
has  been  universally  received. 

Nothing  can  be  more  interesting  to  the  human  soul,  than 
the  solemnities  of  judgment.  Nothing  can  be  better  worthy 
our  habitual  reflections,  than  the  fact  that  there  will  be  a 
righteous  retribution  when  life  shall  have  closed.  All  that 
pertains  to  that  judgment,  and  to  him  who  shall  administer 
it,  must  be  matter  of  deepest  and  most  affecting  interest. 
No  one,  who  suffers  himself  to  think  at  all,  can  think  of  it 
with  indifference.  I  therefore  ask  attention  to  the  remarks 
suggested  by  our  text,  concerning  the  nature  of  the  office 
which  Christ  thus  holds,  the  authority  by  which  he  exercises 
it,  the  reasons  of  his  appointment  to  it,  and  the  duties  which 
are  consequently  imposed  upon  us. 

1.    The  nature  of  this  office. 

The  passages  already  cited  teach  that  it  is  to  be  executed 
at  the  final  consummation  of  all  things,  when  the  issues  of 
this  probation  shall  be  made  known,  and  every  man  shall 
receive  "  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body."  At 
that  time,  it  is  the  Son  of  man,  who  shall  sit  on  the  throne 
of  the  kingdom,  and  welcome  the  righteous  to  the  joy  of 
their  Lord,  and  deliver  the  unprofitable  to  outer  darkness. 

The  inquiry  is  here  suggested,  whether  we  are  to  under- 
stand that  this  shall  be  strictly  tiic  act  of  the  Savior,  present 
in  his  own  person  ;  or  wlicthcr  we  are  to  suppose  it  in- 
tended only  to  represent  that  the  doctrines  and  laws  of  his 

-  1   Pet.  iv.  5.     2  Tim.  iv.  1. 


CHRIST    THE    JUDGE    OF    THE    WORLD.  117 

religion  shall  determine  the  final  state  of  every  individual. 
Is  he  Judge,  in  the  sense  that  he  personally  administers  the 
sentence,  or  in  the  sense  that  it  is  by  his  law  that  judgment 
shall  be  passed  ? 

Each  of  these  interpretations  may  find  support  from  some 
passages  of  the  Scriptures,  and  it  may  not  be  easy  to  satisfy 
ourselves  which  is  the  truth. 

In  regard  to  the  first,  it  is  strongly  countenanced  by  the 
direct  phraseology  of  the  New  Testament  in  a  multitude  of 
instances.  Jesus  is  there  represented  as  personally  appear- 
ing, sitting,  speaking,  and  pronoimcing  judgment,  in  a 
manner  which  seems  at  first  to  require  a  literal  interpreta- 
tion. It  does  not  at  once  suggest  the  idea  that  nothing 
el.*!e  is  intended,  but  that  the  final  distribution  of  rewards 
and  punishments  shall  be  made  according  to  the  rules  of  his 
gospel. 

But,  tlien,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  well  understood,  that,  in 
conuiion  language,  and  most  frequently  in  the  language  of 
the  Bible,  one  is  said  to  do  what  he  causes  to  be  done,  or 
provides  for  doing.  According  to  which  sense,  we  may 
understand  Christ  to  be  called  the  Judge  of  the  world, 
because  he  provides  the  rules  and  publishes  the  laws  by 
which  judgment  shall  proceed.  He  himself  authorizes  this 
interpretation,  when  he  says,  "  If  any  man  hear  my  words, 
and  believe  not,  I  judge  him  not;  he  hath  one  tliat  judgeth 
him  ;  the  trord  that  I  have  spoken,  the  same  shall  judge  him 
at  the  last  day."  It  seems  also  to  corroborate  this  interpre- 
tation, that  he  promises  his  disciples,  that  they  shall  "  sit  on 
twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel;"  and 
also  that  Paul  says,  "  Know  ye  not  that  the  saints  shall 
judge  the  world  ?  Know  ye  not  that  we  shall  judge  an- 
gels f"  Now,  we  do  not  for  a  moment  suppose  that  the 
apostles  shall  be  actually  seated  on  twelve  thrones,  and  take 


113  CHMIST    THE    Jt'DGE    OF    THE    'WORLD. 

part  in  the  distribution  of  rewards  and  punishments  to  God's 
creatures ;  much  less  that  all  Christians  shall  be  so  employed  ; 
for  they  are  all  to  be  themselves  subject  to  judgment.  And 
still  less  do  we  imagine  that  they  shall  be  exalted  to  pass 
sentence  upon  angels.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  understand 
by  this  language,  tliat  the  doctrine  they  hold  is  the  rule  by 
which  all  shall  be  judged,  that  the  gospel  they  profess  is  the 
standard  by  which  sentence  shall  be  passed.  And  why  are 
we  not  warranted  in  adopting  the  same  exposition  in  the 
instance  of  our  Lord  ?  Why  not  use  as  a  key  to  the  other 
expressions  his  own  declaration,  that  it  is  "  the  word  which 
he  hath  spoken,  that  shall  judge  them  at  the  last  day  "  ? 

It  must  be  acknowledged,  however,  that  perfect  satisfac- 
tion upon  this  point  is  not  easily  obtained.  Neither  can  it 
be  considered  essential.  There  is  necessarily  much  per- 
taining to  the  last  great  day,  and  its  dread  events,  which  the 
day  only  can  reveal.  It  is  sufficient  for  us  that  we  know 
by  what  law  our  actions  shall  be  tried,  and  by  how  strict  a 
standard  our  lives  shall  be  judged.  It  will  be  the  same 
thing,  as  regards  our  own  state,  whether  our  condition  be 
silently  determined  by  the  word  of  Christ,  which  was  given 
for  our  direction,  or  whether  it  be  audibly  announced  from 
his  lips.  In  either  case,  it  will  be  bliss  for  those  who  are 
received,  and  woe  for  those  who  are  rejected. 

2.  We  come  to  the  second  point  proposed  —  the  authority 
by  which  our  Lord  exercises  this  office.  Is  it  original,  or 
is  it  derived?  Is  it  his  own,  or  does  he  receive  it  from 
another  ? 

This  is  a  question  which  can,  of  course,  be  answered 
only  by  the  written  testimony  of  revelation.  Conjecture 
and  reasoning  upon  this  point  are  equally  unprofitable  and 
out  of  place.  Only  that  word,  which  informs  us  that  he 
holds  the  office,  can  tell  us  by  what  authority  he  holds  it. 


CHRIST    THE    JUDGE    OF    THE    WORLD.  1  19 

And  here  there  is  no  deficiency  of  information,  nor  want 
of  explicitness.  Every  passage  to  which  we  have  referred 
either  directly  asserts,  or  necessarily  implies,  that  the  au- 
thority is  derived  from  the  Father.  "  The  Father  h(it}i  com- 
mitted all  judgment  to  the  Son."  "  He  hath  given  me  au- 
thority to  execute  judgment."  "  He  is  ordained  of  God  to 
be  judge  of  quick  and  dead."  No  language  can  be  more 
unambiguous  than  this.  Words  could  not  deny  more 
strongly  all  claim,  on  our  Lord's  part,  to  an  origir\al  inde- 
pendent authority  in  this  particular. 

But  notwithstanding  this,  it  is  remarkable  that  men  have 
been  sometimes  ready  to  forget  this  plain  language  of  our 
Lord,  and  be  rather  guided  by  the  suggestions  of  their  own 
understanding  ;  for,  they  argue,  it  is  impossible  that  the 
office  of  judging  the  world  should  be  delegated.  It  is  a 
work  to  which  only  omniscience  and  omnipotence  are 
equal ;  and  these  qualifications  cannot  be  communicated  to 
a  finite  being.  For  which  reason,  they  say,  it  is  necessary, 
that  the  judge  should  be  the  supreme  Deity  himself;  and 
hence  they  conclude  that  Jesus  is  himself  the  Almighty 
God. 

Upon  remarks  of  this  sort  we  may  observe,  in  the  first 
place,  that  we  have  no  right  to  say  what  powers  God  can  or 
cannot  communicate,  what  authority  he  can  or  cannot  dele- 
gate. It  is  presumption,  in  beings  like  us.  How  do  we 
know  that  he  may  not  impart  to  one  of  his  creatures  knowl- 
edge wide  enough,  and  power  large  enough,  to  execute 
righteous  judgment  on  the  human  race,  without  making  it 
omnipotent  or  omniscient  ?  What  right  have  we  to  say  that 
one  cannot  receive  from  God  authority  and  wisdom  sulli- 
cient  to  rule  his  church  of  this  world,  without  making  it 
extend  to  all  worlds  ?  Why  is  it  impossible  to  believe  that 
God  may  "  commit  all  judgment"  to  another? 


1(580!  CHRIST    THE    JUDGE    OF    THE    WORLD. 

It  is  hazardous  to  reason  on  this  point  in  opposition  to 
the  plain  language  of  revelation.  Jesus  Christ  declares 
that  this  authority  is  delegated,  and  refrains  from  all  lan- 
guage which  may  imply  underived  wisdom,  or  native  right. 
In  words  immediately  following  our  text,  he  adds,  "  I  can 
of  mine  own  self  do  nothing  ;  as  I  hear  I  judge  ;  and  my 
judgment  is  just,  because  I  seek  not  my  own  will,  but  the 
will  of  the  Father  who  sent  me."  Shall  we  suffer  any  no- 
tion respecting  the  impossibility  of  a  judgment  without  inde- 
pendent omniscience  to  contradict  this  decisive  language? 

But  further  still.  The  very  circumstance  which  we  are 
ready  to  rely  upon  as  proving  that  Jesus  could  not  execute 
judgment,  if  he  possessed  only  delegated  power,  is  the  very 
circumstance  assigned,  in  the  sacred  volume,  as  a  reason  for 
its  being  delegated.  Judgment,  it  is  sometimes  afRrmed, 
cannot  be  impartial  and  just  in  the  hands  of  one  of  limited 
knovvJeHgo.  "  Who  can  feel  safe,"  it  is  asked,  "  to  commit 
his  eternal  destiny  to  the  decision  of  one  who  is  not  om- 
niscient?" Such  is  the  wisdom  of  man.  Bat  not  such  the 
wisdom  of  GJod.  He  has  seen  fit  to  "  give  "  Jesus  this  au- 
thority. And  why  ?  For  the  very  reason  which  men  assign 
for  its  being  impossible  —  "  because  he  is  the  Son  of  man." 
This  is  so  frequently  implied,  that  we  might  almost  fancy  it 
designed  as  a  rebuke  to  man's  presumptuous  argument  on 
the  subject.  "  He  hath  appointed  a  day,"  says  Paul,  "  in 
which  he  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  — 
hy  the  mail  whom  he  hath  ordained."  He  himself  says, 
"My  judgment  is  just."  Why?  Because  my  knowledge 
and  power  are  infinite  ?  because  I  am  the  eternal  and  un- 
erring God?  Not  at  all.  This  is  what  men  may  say  ;  but 
Christ  assigns  a  very  opposite  reason  —  "  because  I  seek  not 
my  own  will,  but  the  will  of  him  who  sent  me." 

It  may  well  be  added  here,  that,  even  on  the  supposition 


CHRIST  THE  JUDGE  OF  THE  WORLD.         121 

of  the  union  of  the  divine  and  human  natures  in  the  person 
of  our  Lord,  this  speculative  reasoning  is  altogether  unsat- 
isfactory and  deceitful.  For,  in  that  case,  the  Scriptures 
speak  of  him  as  judge,  never  in  his  divine  nature,  but  only 
and  always  in  his  inferior  nature.  He  hath  authority,  not 
because  he  is  God,  but  "  because  he  is  the  Son  of  man." 
So  likewise  says  Paul  —  "the  man  whom  he  hath  ordained." 
So  that,  whatever  ground  may  be  taken,  the  Scriptures  deny 
that  the  possession  of  divine  attributes  is  essential  to  this 
work.  If  it  be  said  that  an  influence  is  derived  to  the  in- 
ferior nature  by  its  union  with  God,  this  is  undoubtedly 
true.  This  is  what  Jesus  teaches,  and  what  we  insist  upon 
always.  "  The  Father  dwells  in  him,"  and  acts  by  him. 
It  is  not  his  own  will,  but  the  Father's.  He  judges  as  he 
hears,  not  according  to  his  own  will,  but  according  to  that 
of  the  Father  who  sent  him.  But  this  is  a  very  different 
thing  from  possessing  underived  and  inherent  authority. 

But  still  it  may  be  urged,  that  judgment  is  ascribed  to 
God  in  the  Scriptures,  as  his  peculiar  work  ;  and  how  is 
this  consistent  with  Christ  being  judge,  if  he  be  not  God  ? 

Its  consistency  will  be  very  apparent,  if  we  take  into 
view  this  obvious  and  simple  consideration  ;  that  while  it 
has  pleased  the  Father  to  "  commit  all  judgment  to  the 
Son,"  it  is  his  infinite  wisdom,  justice,  goodness,  which  rule 
in  the  Son,  and  accomplish  the  great  work.  He  has  not 
left  him  incompetent,  but  has  given  to  him  "  the  Spirit  with- 
out measure."  "  It  hath  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  all 
fulness  should  dwell."  In  a  word,  "  God  jtidgcs  the  trorld 
by  him." 

In  this  view  of  the  subject,  every  thing  is  consistent  and 

satisfactory.     Let  us  hear  no  more  of  reluctance  to  submit 

to  him  who  is  thus  appointed.     If  we  will  consent  to  take 

the  doctrine  as  it  stands  in  the  Scriptures,  and  will  not  strive 

11 


122         CHRIST  THE  JUDGE  OF  THE  WORLD. 

to  be  wise  above  what  is  written,  we  shall  find  nothing  in 
it  to  perplex  our  understandings,  nothing  that  needs  the 
remedy  of  our  speculations,  but  every  thing  to  warrant 
our  steadfast  confidence,  our  fervent  faith,  our  unfeigned 
adoration. 

If,  however,  we  desire  a  little  further  satisfaction,  we  may 
find  it  in  the  remarks  which  occur  under  the  next  head  of 
discourse,  in  which  it  was  proposed, 

3.  To  consider  the  reasons  of  this  appointment ;  to  in- 
quire briefly  and  humbly  into  some  of  the  causes  why  the 
Father  of  the  universe,  the  kind  and  equal  Parent  of  all, 
should  himself  judge  no  man,  but  commit  all  judgment  to 
the  Son. 

We  may,  undoubtedly,  find  one  reason  in  the  circum- 
stance to  which  we  have  already  alluded  —  that  it  is  the 
general  method  of  God's  administration  to  provide  for  and 
rule  his  creation  by  the  agency  of  intermediate  ministers. 
From  this  method  we  do  not  know  that  there  is  any  de- 
parture. To  maintain  a  uniformity  with  the  general  system 
we  may  readily  suppose  to  be  one  reason  of  this  judicial 
appointment.  As  he  had  led  his  people  by  Moses  and 
Joshua,  and  taught  them  by  the  prophets,  and  chastened 
them  by  the  heathen,  and  enlightened  men  by  a  .special 
messenger,  and  reconciled  and  saved  them  by  a  chosen  Me- 
diator, so  he  would  in  like  manner  judge  the  world  by  his 
Son.  It  is  one  instance  among  multitudes  of  what  is  the 
established  ordmance  of  the  divine  government. 

Another  reason  for  this  appointment  is  contained  in  the 
remarkable  expression  of  a  verse,  which  I  have  already  more 
than  once  cited  —  "  He  hath  appointed  him  to  execute  judg- 
ment, because  he  is  the  Son  of  man."  There  is  something 
indescribably  aflecting  in  the  disclosure  which  is  thus  made 
of  the  tenderness  of  our  heavenly   Father.     He  who   has 


CHRIST    THE    JUDGE    OF    THE    WORLD.  l'2\i 

m;ide  all,  and  lias  a  riglit  to  all,  has  not  only  forborne  and 
cherished  his  sinful  offspring  here,  and  made  punishment 
his  strange  work  upon  earth,  but  has  extended  his  forbear- 
ance even  to  the  last  sad  trial ;  has,  if  we  may  so  represent 
it,  descended  from  his  throne  of  majesty,  and  stripped  it  of 
those  terrors  of  vengeance  and  indignation,  before  which 
neither  stubborn  guilt  nor  timid  innocence  would  be  able  to 
stand  ;  and  has  purposed  to  issue  the  decisions  of  that  awful 
day — not  even  from  the  milder  seat  of  paternal  justice  — 
but  from  the  serene  and  sympathizing  lips  of  the  once 
human  Savior ;  of  one  who  had  been  in  the  world,  and 
known  the  trials  and  weaknesses  of  flesh  ;  who  had  himself 
combated  temptation,  and  endured  suffering,  and  been  ac- 
quainted with  grief;  who  is  therefore  capable  of  being 
touched  with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  and  extending 
compassion  to  those  who  are  out  of  the  way.  With  such 
an  advocate  and  judge,  of  whom  all  that  we  have  known 
has  been  benevolent,  tender,  and  forbearing,  —  we  feel  as- 
sured that  mercy  shall  reign  in  the  midst  of  judgment;  that 
while  severity  flashes  on  the  criminal,  there  shall  yet  be  no 
room  for  unrelenting  wrath  ;  but  every  infirmity  shall  re- 
ceive compassion,  and  all  possible  allowance  be  made  for 
the  weakness  of  the  flesh  and  the  seductions  of  the  world. 
Let  tiie  timid  and  desponding  disciple  be  comforted  and 
at  peace.  Let  the  tempted  and  tried,  the  sorrowing  and 
fearful,  give  way  to  no  despair.  For  it  is  to  ll'im,  who  bore 
our  infirmities  and  carried  our  sorrows,  who  breaks  not  the 
bruised  reed,  nor  quenches  the  smoking  flax  —  it  is  to  him 
that  judgment  has  been  committed,  "  because  he  is  the  Son 
of  man." 

Thus  has  this  appointment  been  made  for  the  purpose 
of  manifesting  the  compassion  of  God.  "  Mercy  belongeth 
unto  thee,  O  Lord;  because  thou  renderest  to  every  man 


124         CHRIST  THE  JUDGE  OF  THE  WORLD. 

according  to  his  works."  *  Rich,  indeed,  that  mercy  !  which 
began  with  the  mission  of  the  Savior,  and  is  consummated 
in  the  gracious  tenderness  of  the  judgment-seat !  What  an 
aggravation  to  the  guilt  of  that  man,  who  can  still  go  on, 
hardening  himself  in  sin,  and  who  will  carry  nothing  but 
corrupt  and  obstinate  disobedience  to  the  presence  of  eter- 
nal love  ! 

4.  We  were  to  notice,  in  the  last  place,  the  duty  which 
is,  in  consequence  of  this  doctrine,  imposed  upon  us.  This 
is  stated  by  our  Lord  himself  in  the  words  succeeding  our 
text  —  "that  all  men  should  honor  the  Son,  even  as  they 
honor  the  Father."  In  consequence  of  this  appointment  to 
judge  the  world,  it  becomes  our  duty  to  render  to  him  the 
reverence,  submission,  and  confidence,  which  appertain  to 
the  great  Sovereign  in  whose  name  he  acts.  The  honors 
which  belong  to  the  prince  are  demanded  for  his  ambassa- 
dor. The  Lord  said,  "They  who  receive  you  receive  me; 
and  they  who  receive  me  receive  him  who  sent  me."  "  God 
hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  above  every 
name;  that  in  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow, 
and  every  tongue  confess  him  to  be  Lord,  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  Father."  This  is  one  appointed  test  of  devotion  to 
God.  A  right  spirit  of  subjection  and  submission  to  him 
will  necessarily  be  manifested  by  confidence,  faith,  and  trust 
in  him  whom  he  has  commissioned  —  to  refuse  which  is  an 
evidence  of  disrespect  toward  tlie  Sovereign  himself 

But  this  is  not  our  only  duty.  If  Christ  is  to  sit  on  the 
judgment-seat,  we  are  to  stand  before  it,  and  give  account 
of  every  work  which  we  have  done,  and  of  every  secret 
thought,  whether  it  be  good  or  whetlior  it  be  evil.  For  tliat 
day  we  arc  to  prepare.     Tlie  thought  of  it  slioiiUl  have  in- 

*  Psalai  Ixli.  12. 


CHRIST    THE    JUDGE    OF    THE    WORLD.  125 

fluence  upon  the  whole  habitual  frame  of  our  minds,  and 
the  entire  character  of  our  lives.  It  should  make  sin  our 
abhorrence,  and  holiness  our  delight.  It  should  excite  us 
to  diligence  in  the  work  of  obedience  and  faith,  that  we 
may  be  found  blameless  and  accepted  at  last.  It  should 
lead  us  to  familiar  acquaintance  with  that  Word  according 
to  which  our  destiny  shall  be  determined,  and  to  the  devout 
performance  of  every  duty  it  enjoins ;  that  so  we  may  be 
welcomed  to  the  joy  of  our  Lord,  and  not  be  cast  out  with 
the  rejected  and  impenitent. 

Finally,  brethren,  since  so  momentous  consequences  de- 
pend on  the  account  we  are  to  give  at  the  judgment-seat  of 
Christ,  let  us  accustom  ourselves  to  reflect  on  the  nature  of 
this  office,  on  the  authority  by  which  he  is  invested  with  it, 
the  reasons  for  which  it  is  committed  to  him,  and  the  duties 
which  thence  are  demanded  of  us.  Let  us  thus  cherish 
and  confirm  our  conviction  of  the  supremacy  of  the  God 
and  Father  of  all,  and  of  that  excellent  grace  which  is  here 
exhibited.  Let  us  habitually  reverence  and  submit  to  the 
authority  which  he  has  laid  upon  his  Son.  Let  us  feel  with 
what  diligent  and  grateful  fidelity,  and  with  what  scrupulous 
dread  of  sin,  we  should  look  forward  to  the  day  of  final 
recompense ;  when  the  penitent  and  believing  shall  view 
with  joy  the  smiles  of  the  Redeemer's  face  ;  when  the  un- 
believing and  disobedient  shall  taste  tenfold  anguish  from 
the  very  tenderness  of  that  compassionate  Judge,  who  shall 
pity  while  he  condemns. 


11 


SERMON    X 


ON   HONORING  THE    SON. 
JOHN  V.  22. 

THAT  ALL  MEiN  SHOULD  HONOR  THE  SON,  EVEN  AS  THEY  HONOR  THE 
FATHER. 

It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  the  character  and  offices 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  without  perceiving  that  exalted 
honor  is  due  to  him.  The  insensibility  of  that  man  can 
hardly  be  conceived,  who  should  be  able  to  question  or 
withhold  it.  We  yield  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the  good  men 
with  whom  we  meet  in  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life;  and 
every  distinguished  benefactor  is  accounted  to  deserve  the 
distinguished  gratitude  and  respect  of  his  fellow-men.  No 
one,  therefore,  who  has  the  common  feelings  of  a  man,  can 
deny  to  Jesus  Christ  his  claims  to  reverence,  gratitude,  and 
honor ;  whose  character  exhibits  the  perfection  of  moral 
excellence ;  whose  history  is  connected  with  the  most  won- 
derful works  of  universal  benevolence,  wortiiy  the  counsels 
of  heaven  ;  who  was  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  by  a 
voice  from  above ;  proved  himself  the  friend  of  men  by  his 
labors  in  their  cause,  and  the  conqueror  of  death  by  his 
resurrection  from  the  tomb;  who  is  declared  to  be  "  the 
brightness   of  God's  glory  and    the    express    image  of  his 


ON    HONORING    TUE    SON.  127 

person,"  and  to  whom  God  has  committed  the  judgment  of 
tlie  \vt)rld.  Even  those  who  have  rejected  his  revelation, 
and  denied  his  authority  as  a  divine  messenger,  have  been 
unable  to  speak  of  him  in  any  accents  but  those  of  admira- 
tion. One  of  the  most  eloquent  tributes  in  his  praise  was 
from  the  pen  of  an  open  infidel.  What,  then,  should  be  the 
feeling  of  his  disciples,  who  believe  that  he  came  from  God, 
and  that  "  the  Father  dwelt  in  him,"  and  tauglit  by  him, 
and  constituted  him  our  Prince,  and  Savior,  and  Judge?  and 
that  "  to  receive  him  is  to  receive  the  Father  who  sent 
him  "  ?  Their  hearts  must  surely  burn  within  them  when 
they  think  of  him.  They  must  anxiously  inquire  what  are 
the  honors  demanded  for  him,  that  they  may  not  be  remiss 
in  rendering  them. 

The  expression  of  our  text  is  a  remarkable  one,  and  offers 
some  important  suggestions  relative  to  so  interesting  a  topic. 
These  we  shall  perhaps  pursue  to  the  most  satisfactory 
result  by  inquiring  first,  whi/,  and  secondly,  hoic,  tec  are  to 
honor  the  Father,  that  we  may  thence  be  instructed  why 
and  how  we  are  to  honor  the  Son. 

1.  We  are  to  consider,  in  the  first  place,  iphi/  wc  are  to 
honor  the  Father.  Upon  what  reasons  are  founded  the 
honors  due  to  him  ? 

Of  the  infinite  Being  who  is  called  God  we  can  compre- 
hend but  little.  "Who  by  searching  can  find  out  God? 
Who  can  find  out  the  Almighty  to  perfection  ?  "  We  know 
not  the  essence  of  the  Deity,  nor  can  we  fully  comprehend 
the  mode  of  his  existence.  Our  whole  knowledge  of  him 
is  comprised  in  a  few  facts.  We  know  that  he  exists,  and 
exists  through  all  extent,  omnipresent  and  omniscient. 
That  he  is  a  spirit  ;  that  is,  he  is  not  the  subject  of  any  of 
our  senses,  and  exists  in  a  manner  so  different  from  our 
mode   of  existence,  that   he   may  be   equally  present   in   all 


128  ON    HONORING   THE    SON. 

places.  That  he  is  eternal ;  there  never  was  a  point  of  time 
in  which  he  was  not,  and  there  never  shall  be  a  time  when 
he  shall  cease  to  be.  That  he  is  infinitely  powerful ;  capa- 
ble of  doing  all  which  is  possible  to  be  done,  while  not  ail 
the  collected  force  of  the  countless  multitudes  of  other 
beings  could  offer  opposition.  These  facts  respecting  the 
Deity  constitute  what  are  called  his  natural  attributes. 
They  enter  into  the  very  definition  of  God ;  so  that  a  being 
who  does  not  possess  these  attributes  of  almighty  power, 
universal  presence,  infinite  knowledge,  and  spirituality,  is 
not  God. 

Now,  the  question  is,  whether  it  be  these  attributes  which 
require  of  us  the  honors  we  pay  to  God.  Though  without 
these  he  would  not  be  God,  yet  is  it  these  upon  which  are 
built  religious  homage  and  allegiance?  There  is  one  simple 
consideration,  which,  I  think,  may  satisfy  us,  that  it  is  not, 
certainly  not  entirely  nor  chiefly;  and  that  is,  that  if  these 
natural  attributes  were  united  with  an  evil  and  malignant 
character  —  supposing  such  a  union  possible  —  we  could 
not  be  bound  to  render  to  that  Being  the  same  homage 
which  we  now  render  to  our  beneficent  Creator.  If,  for 
example,  Satan,  the  personified  principle  of  evil,  —  selfish, 
perverse,  and  malicious,  —  were  a  sclf-existent,  all-knowing, 
all-powerful,  omnipresent,  eternal  spirit,  still  we  should  not 
for  a  moment  imagine  that  the  honors  now  paid  to  the 
infinitely  Good,  would  of  right  belong  to  him 

If,  then,  these  attribiites  do  not  form  the  ground  of  the 
honors  rendered  to  the  Father,  what  are  the  divine  perfec- 
tions to  which  they  are  rendered  ?  Obviously,  those  which 
we  call  the  moral  perfections  —  his  essential  holiness,  his 
perfect  rectitude,  unerring  wisdom,  unwavering  truth  and 
faithfulness,  impartiid  ju.stice,  infinite  goodness  and  mercy. 
He  is    clothed    with  righteousness,  purity,   and  love  —  the 


ON    HONORING    THE    SON.  129 

kind  Creator,  the  observing  Governor,  the  gracious  Father ; 
earnestly  det^iring  first  the  perfect  virtue,  and  then  the  per- 
fect happiness,  of  every  living  being.  For  the#e  attriljute? 
he  is  reverenced ;  for  these  it  is  that  angels  and  arcliangels 
praise  him,  and  hymns  of  adoration  ascend  from  the  lips  of 
glorified  spirits ;  for  these  it  is  that  his  people  bend  in  awe 
before  him,  for  these  that  his  children  love  him,  and  his 
saints  bless  him.  "  Who  shall  not  fear  thee,  O  Lord,  and 
magnify  thy  name?  For  thou  only  art  holy."  "Praise 
tlie  Lord,  for  he  is  good,  for  his  mercy  endurcth  forever."  * 

Such  are  the  reasons  for  which  God  is  honored.  You 
perceive  that  they  may  easily  be  reduced  to  two :  first,  his 
own  character ;  second,  the  relation  in  which  he  stands  to 
his  creatures.  He  is  infinitely  excellent  and  glorious  in 
himself,  and  to  us  he  is  Creator  and  Proprietor,  Governor 
and  Father. 

We  take  these  remarks  to  guide  us  in  speaking  of  the 
lionor  due  to  the  Son  of  God.     As   we  honor  the  Father, 

*  It  lias  been  objected  to  this  reasoning,  that  it  is  inconclusive, 
because  it  keeps  too  much  out  of  sitrht  the  fact  that  it  is  the  entire 
character  of  the  Deity,  and  not  any  one  portion  of  it,  which  consti- 
tutes him  tlie  object  of  worship.  The  fact  is  undoubted!}'  so ;  and 
tlierefore  the  statements  in  this  passage  are,  perhaps,  too  broad  and 
unqualified  ;  yet  I  think  that  they  will  not  be  found  essentially  in- 
correct by  those  who  will  give  a  careful  attention  to  the  whole 
course  and  bearing  of  the  remarks.  The  argument  will  be  per- 
ceived to  be  this  :  The  honors  rendered  to  the  Father  are  grounded 
on  his  character,  and  on  the  relations  which  he  sustains  to  his  crea- 
tures.  By  his  character  I  understand  his  moral  attributes,  while 
these  relations  grow  out  of  his  natural  attributes.  It  is  the  former, 
principally,  as  I  say  in  the  discourse,  on  account  of  which  worship 
is  rendered  ;  although,  at  the  same  time,  the  latter  are  essential  to 
his  very  existence  as  God;  and — it  should  have  been  expressed 
as  well  as  implied  —  his  relation  to  us  is  founded  on  them. 

How,  then,  is  this  statement  applied  to  the  Son  ?     We  arc  in  like 


130  ON    HONORING    THE    SON. 

because  of  his  own  character,  and  because  of  his  relation 
to  us,  so  we  honor  the  Son,  because  of  his  character,  and 
because  of  His  relation  to  us.  As  it  is  not  the  divine  nature 
simply  —  not  the  natural  attributes  of  eternity,  omnipres- 
ence, and  spirituality  —  on  account  of  which  divine  homage 
is  rendered,  but  rather  the  moral  perfections  of  character, 
so  likewise  honor  is  demanded  for  the  Savior,  not  simply  on 
account  of  his  nature,  whatever  it,may  be,  not  because  he 
is  more  or  less  elevated  in  precedence  of  existence  or  native 
powers ;  but  rather  because  of  his  perfections  of  character, 
and  the  offices  in  which  he  stands  related  to  us.  For  it  is 
evident,  beyond  all  dispute,  that  a  being  of  precisely  the 
same  natural  rank  as  our  Lord,  but  without  the  same  char- 
acter and  offices,  would  have  no  peculiar  claims  to  honor 
from  men  ;  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  these  claims  would 
be  precisely  the  same,  whatever  his  nature  or  rank  might 
be,  so  long  as  his  relations  to  man  were  unchanged,  and  he 
sustained  the  place  to  which  God  has  exalted  him  in  his 
spiritual  dispensations.  If,  when  we  receive  him  as  God's 
Ambassador  and  Son,  clothed  with  divine  authority  and 
wisdom,  we  obey  him  as  our  Master,  and  love  him  as  our 

manner  to  honor  him  on  account  of  his  character,  and  of  the  rela- 
tio7is  he  sustains  toward  us  —  relations,  founded,  not  as  those  of 
God,  on  his  nutvrul  attributes,  hut  on  tlie  appointment  of  the  Father. 
So  that,  even  if  it  were  true  that  the  natural  perfections  of  God  are 
in  every  respect  an  equal  ground  of  divine  honors  with  tlie  moral, 
yet  the  conclusion  respecting  the  honors  due  to  our  Savior  remains 
the  same  ;  his  relations  to  us  being  grounded,  not,  like  those  of 
God,  on  the  perfections  of  his  nature,  but  on  the  appointment  of  his 
Father. 

Or,  if  it  be  said  that  these  relations  of  God  spring  in  part  also 
from  his  moral  perfections,  still  the  conclusion  is  the  same  ;  for 
still  the  relations  and  olHces  of  Jesus  spring  from  the  appointment 
of  God.     [.lulhur'i  J\'olc.] 


ON    HONOR!  N'J    TH!-:    SON.  131 

Savior,  and  reverence  liiiu  as  our  Judge,  —  tlien  we  honor 
him  as  the  Father.  If,  wiien  we  see  tlie  same  holy  attri- 
butes which  we  adore  in  God,  displayed  in  tlie  benevolent 
and  spotless  life  of  Jesus,  we  are  led  to  emotions  of  admira- 
tion and  love,  —  then  we  honor  him  as  we  honor  the  Father. 
We  receive  him  in  the  oflices  and  relations  to  which  God 
appointed  him,  and  thus  in  fact  receive  and  honor  Ilini  who 
sent  him. 

It  never  must  be  forgotten  that  "  all  things  are  of  God." 
He  is  the  beginning  and  end,  the  support  and  head,  of  every 
thing  which  exists.  Jesus  indeed  is  "  Head  over  all  things 
to  the  cimrch ; "  but  the  apostle  tells  us  that  he  "  was 
made"  so  by  God.  God  is  the  origin  and  foundation  of  all. 
His  relation  to  us  he  assumed  of  his  own  pleasure  ;  he  sus- 
tains it  of  his  own  right  and  power.  Our  relation  to  him  is 
derived  from  the  very  frame  of  our  nature,  and  the  original 
purpose  of  our  creation.  We  are  his  offspring ;  he  is  our 
Creator.  In  these  respects  our  relation  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  differs.  It  did  not  commence  with  the  act  of  crea- 
tion, is  not  founded  in  the  original  constitution  of  nature, 
but  is  founded  by  an  express  appointment  of  our  Creator 
and  Father.  It  originates  in  the  pnr[)oses  of  his  redeeming 
love,  and  is  in  every  respect  dependent  upon  his  ordinance. 
This  distinction  is  important  to  be  kept  in  view,  if  we  would 
understand  the  subject  rightly.  It  is  amply  supjjorted  by 
the  perpetual  testimony  of  the  Scriptures.  It  is  repeatedly 
asserted  in  express  terms,  and  every  where  implied  in  their 
language  respecting  Jesus.  Why  does  he  hold  the  place  of 
Lord  and  Christ?  Because,  saith  Peter,  "  God  Imth  mvuk 
this  same  Jesus  whom  ye  crucitied  to  be  both  Lord  and 
Christ."  Why  does  he  sustain  the  important  rank  of  Prince 
and  Savior  ?  Because,  saith  the  apostle,  "  him  hath  God 
exalted  to  be  a  Prince   and  Savior."     In   a   word,   whence 


132  ON    HONORING    THE    SON. 

hath  he  his  name  above  every  name,  and  why  in  that  name 
must  "  every  knee  bow,  and  every  tongue  confess  him  to  be 
Lord"?  The  apostle  replies,  because  "God  hath  highly 
exalted  him,  and  given  him  that  name."  And  for  whose 
glory  is  all  this  to  be  done  ?  The  same  apostle  declares, 
"  To  the  glory  of  God  —  the  Father." 

In  all  this  we  find  fully  maintained  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  honors  which  Christians  are  to  render  to  their 
God  and  to  their  Savior.  The  infinite  God  claims  them  in 
his  own  name,  by  his  own  right,  for  his  own  glory.  Jesus 
claims  them,  not  in  his  own  name,  nor  by  his  own  right, 
nor  for  his  own  glory.  He  refers  them  constantly  to  the 
Father.  Even  in  the  powerful  language  of  our  text,  he 
challenges  to  himself  no  independent  honors,  but  expressly 
founds  his  title  on  the  appointment  of  God.  "  The  Father 
judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all  judgment  to  the 
Son ;  that  all  men  should  honor  the  Son  even  as  they  honor 
the  Father."  Here  he  declares  that  he  is  appointed  to  be 
judge,  not  that  he  is  so  by  inherent  right;  and  that  in  the 
execution  of  that  office  he  is  to  be  honored  as  the  Father 
who  appointed  him,  and  in  whose  place  and  for  whose 
glory  he  acts.  In  this  manner  the  honor  demanded  for 
Jesus  is  on  account  of  the  offices  to  which  God  has  exalted 
him ;  his  own  authority  or  right  is  never  alleged  as  a 
ground  of  it,  as  it  always  is  in  the  case  of  God  himself 
"  Of  himself,"  he  says,  "  the  Son  can  do  nothing."  "  AH 
power  is  committed  to  me  of  my  Father." 

I  have  thus  endeavored  to  exhibit  the  foundation  of  our 
Lord's  claims  to  honor  from  his  disciples.  They  rest  upon 
the  perfection  of  his  character,  and  the  places  to  which  God 
has  exalted  him.  As  we  bow  to  the  authority  of  God,  so, 
bretlircn,  let  us  acknowledge  these  claims.  Let  us  bow  in 
that  name  above  every  name,  with  which  the  eternal  God 


ON    nONOUllNO    TlIK    SOM.  13 J 

hath  glorified  his  Son.  Since  it  hath  pleased  him  to  bestow 
upoti  him  the  Spirit  "  without  measure,"  and  to  cause  "  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  to  dwell  in  him,"  let  us  not  be  back- 
ward in  those  ascriptions  which  are  justly  his  due ;  but  let 
"  every    tongue    confess  him  to   be    Lord,  to   the    glory 

OP    GOD    THE    FaTILPR." 

But  what  are  these  honors,  and  how  to  be  rendered  1 
This  is  the  second  topic  of  which  I  proposed  to  treat. 

2.  And  here,  also,  as  under  the  other  head,  we  shall  be 
guided  by  considering  hote  we  honor  the  Father. 

In  the  first  place,  we  honor  the  Father  by  the  direct 
offering  to  him  of  supreme  worship,  by  the  express  and  im- 
mediate presentation  of  adoration  and  prayer  to  him,  as  the 
ever-present,  all-guiding,  and  infinitely-powerful  Sovereign 
of  the  universe ;  who  can  hear,  who  receives,  and  who  will 
reward,  this  tribute  to  his  glory. 

Now,  the  question  is,  whether  the  honors  to  the  Son  are 
to  be  in  the  same  sense  divine  and  supreme ;  worship  in  this 
high  degree  —  adoration,  praise,  prayer.  There  are  several 
reasons  which  show  it  to  be  impossible.  The  remarks 
already  made  prove  it;  for,  we  have  seen,  they  show  these 
honors  to  be  derived  from  different  sources.  The  Father  is 
to  be  honored  as  the  infinite  and  sole  origin  and  support  of 
all  beings  and  all  things,  from  whom  we  came,  and  for 
whose  glory  all  things  exist.  But  Jesus  derived  his  power 
and  offices  from  the  will  of  the  supreme  Father,  and  his 
honors  result  not  to  himself  alone,  but  to  the  Father's  glory  ; 
which  decisively  evinces  that  those  honors  are  not  supreme 
worship. 

Besides,    our    Lord    himself  determines    the   point    very 

simply   and  satisfactorily.     As  there  is  but  one  object  of 

supreme  worship,  he  repeatedly  and  emphatically  —  as  if  for 

the  express  purpose  of  preventing  all  doubt  and  mistake  — 

12 


134  ON  HONORING  Tin:  son. 

declares  that  object  to  be  the  Father.  He  never  says,  "  Pray 
to  God;"  in  whicli  expression,  if  we  believed  Jesus  to  be 
God,  we  micrht  possibly  suppose  liim  to  include  himself; 
but  he  always  says,  "  Pray  to  the  Father,''  "  Worship  the 
Father;  "  "  Pray  to  thy  Father,  who  is  in  secret;  "  "  After 
this  manner,  therefore,  pray  ye  —  '  Our  Father,  who  art  in 
heaven  ; '  "  "  The  true  worshipers  shall  worship  the  Father." 
lie  liimself,  repeatedly,  in  the  presence  of  his  disciples  and 
of  the  Jews,  prayed ;  and  in  every  instance  to  the  Father. 
Nay,  and  what  is  more  still,  —  as  if  anxious  to  remove  all 
cause  and  every  possibility  of  mistake,  —  he  said  to  his  dis- 
ciples, "In  that  day"  (that  is,  after  the  resurrection)  "ye 
.s/jcf//  ask  ME  nothing ;  verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  whatso- 
ever ye  shall  ask  the  Father,  in  my  name,  he  will  give  it 
you."  Language  cannot  be  more  explicit  than  this.  A 
more  plain  and  positive  declaration  cannot  be  given,  that  we 
must  pray  to  the  Father  only.  It  goes  decisively  to  prove, 
that  the  honor  spoken  of  in  our  text  cannot  be  supreme 
worship,  or  divine  homage. 

This  conclusion  is  fortified  by  looking  once  more  at  the 
expressions  of  our  text.  Our  Lord  is  speaking  of  his  char- 
acter as  Judge;  which,  he  says,  is  "  committed  to  him  of 
his  Father;"  and  therefore,  while  he  exercises  it  in  the 
place  and  by  the  appointment  of  the  Father,  "  men  should 
honor  him  as  the  Father."  Now,  this  is  in  accordance  with 
a  very  obvious  and  simple  principle,  which  has  never  been 
misunderstood  in  any  other  case  —  that  he  who  executes  an 
office  in  the  name  of  his  king,  is  to  be  respected  in  that 
office  as  the  king.  The  magistrate  is  to  be  honored  as  he  who 
appoints  him,  the  ambassador  as  he  who  delegates  him  ;  and 
to  insult  or  disobey  the  ambassador  or  judge,  is  to  insult  or 
disobey  the  king  or  nation  for  which  that  officer  acts.  Yet, 
thou(j-!i  the  one  is  honored  as  the  other,  the  forms  and  testi- 


ON    HONORING    THE    SON.  135 

inoniuls  of  that  homage  are  not  exactly  the  same,  nor  even 
of  equal  dignity.  It  was  according  to  the  same  mode  of 
speech,  that  our  Lord  said  to  his  apostles,  "  He  that  receiv- 
eth  you  rcceiveth  me."  No  one  supposes,  from  this  mode 
of  expression,  that  no  diirerence  was  made  in  the  reception 
of  the  apostles  and  of  their  Master;  or,  in  other  words,  that 
the  same  respect  was,  or  ought  to  be,  shown  to  both.  And 
when  he  immediately  adds,  "  He  th;it  rcceiveth  me  rcceiveth 
him  that  sent  me,"  we  understand  it  in  a  similar  sense. 
The  honor  to  Jesus  is  as  nmch  the  same  with  that  to  God, 
as  the  respect  to  his  apostles  is  the  same  with  that  to  their 
Master.  This  sort  of  language,  indeed,  is  readily  understood, 
and  has  never  led  to  any  mistake,  except  in  the  instance 
of  our  text.  Let  us  not  misunderstand  it  there.  Let  us  ren- 
der to  the  Father  the  honor  due  to  the  Creator,  Preserver, 
and  Ruler  of  all ;  to  the  Son  that  due  to  the  Teacher,  Law- 
giver, Savior,  and  Spiritual  Prince,  whom  he  has  appointed. 
Let  us  honor  the  one,  as  sitting  upon  the  throne ;  the 
other,  as  the  Lamb  before  the  throne  ;  the  one  therefore 
as  receiving  prayer ;  the  other  as  iiim  tlirougli  whom  it  is 
conveyed.  Let  us  join  the  crowd  of  celestial  worshipers 
who  cast  their  crowns  before  the  throne,  and  worship  "  Ilim 
who  liveth  forever  and  ever,"  and  "  who  hath  created  all 
things;"  who  also  "sing  a  new  song"  to  the  Lamb,  who 
"  was  slain,  and  hath  redeemed  us  to  God  by  his  blood." 

But  direct  worship,  we  are  to  remember,  is  not  the  only 
mode  in  which  we  honor  the  Father.  We  honor  him  by 
the  exercise  oT  faith  in  him;  by  reposing  in  his  character, 
and  providence,  and  word,  a  thorougli  confidence,  unre- 
served and  cheerful  trust.  When  this  is  done  by  magnan- 
imously bearing  his  will,  acquiescing  in  his  appointments, 
and  rejoicing  in  his  government,  even  if  it  be  silently,  it 
is  a  tribute  greater  than  words  can  pay,  a  homage  which  the 


136  ON    HONORING    THE    SON. 

tongue  alone  cannot  render.  Even  so  we  honor  the  Son  of 
God  by  the  exercise  of  faith  in  him.  "  Ye  believe  in  God, 
believe  also  in  me."  The  reliance  on  the  truth  of  his 
promises,  on  the  excellence  of  his  character,  on  the  divinity 
of  his  mission,  and  the  sufficiency  of  his  work  for  our  sal- 
vation,—  which  is  all  implied  in  faith,  —  is  an  unequivocal 
tribute  of  honor  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Again,  we  honor  the  Father  by  love  to  him.  This  is 
"the  first  and  great  commandment;  Thou  shall  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  strength, 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind."  \n  like  man- 
ner, we  honor  the  Son  by  our  love  to  him ;  by  cherishing 
his  image  with  deep  and  earnest  affection ;  by  delighting  to 
meditate  on  his  character  and  think  of  his  excellences ;  by 
commemorating,  whenever  we  may,  his  labors,  sacrifices,  and 
death  in  our  behalf  The  love,  which  the  sincere  disciple 
cherishes  for  his  holy  Master,  is  a  tribute  of  the  truest  honor. 
It  burns  in  his  bosom  and  elevates  his  soul,  as  it  did  that  of 
the  apostles ;  so  that  there  are  seasons,  when,  kindling  into 
rapture  like  theirs,  he  is  ready  to  exclaim,  "  Whom  not 
having  seen  we  love,  and  in  whom,  though  now  we  see  him 
not,  yet  believing,  we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory." 

Gratitude  also  forms  part  of  the  honors  which  we  render 
to  the  Father.  That  is  a  most  acceptable  homage  which  is 
offered  by  tlie  glowing  and  grateful  heart,  lifting  itself  up 
to  God  on  account  of  unnumbered  and  unmerited  favors  — 
life,  strength,  reason,  friends;  the  blessings  of  earth,  the 
revelations  of  heaven  ;  the  support  of  his  providence,  the 
Tuidance  of  his  Word,  the  aid  of  his  Spirit.  A  similar  honor 
we  yield  to  the  Son  by  the  gratitude  we  cherish  toward  him 
—  for  his  disinterested  labors,  his  condescending  love,  his 
gracious  sacrifices;  for  the  life  he  spent  in  our  service,  for 


ON    HONORING    THE    SON, 


137 


the  death  he  died  in  our  behalf,  for  his  intercessions  at  the 
right  hand  of  God.  It  is  a  similar  feeling  and  a  similar 
honor  to  the  Son  as  to  the  Father. 

Further,  we  honor  the  Father  by  obedience.  There  is 
no  mode,  indeed,  by  which  we  so  surely  demonstrate  our 
supreme  reverence  for  the  Creator  and  Governor  of  men,  as 
by  the  unreserved  subjection  of  heart  and  life  to  the  obe- 
dience of  his  law.  It  is  the  highest  and  most  acceptable 
tribute  we  can  bring.  Ten  thousand  offerings  of  eloquent 
prai.se  and  costly  gifts  are  light  in  comparison  of  the  great 
gift  of  the  heart  and  life.  So,  too,  we  yield  the  highest 
tribute  of  honor  to  our  Lord  Jesus,  when  we  obey  his  gospel 
in  the  spirit  of  it.  Who  honors  him,  like  him  that  obeys 
him?  Who  is  his  friend,  but  he  that  "  keeps  his  command- 
ments "  ?  It  is  not  by  contentions  respecting  the  dignity 
of  his  nature,  and  vehement  declamation  concerning  the 
love  and  praise  wliich  are  his  due,  that  we  most  effectually 
promote  his  glory.  The  living,  acting  eulogy  of  him  who 
breathes  his  .spirit,  imitates  his  example,  and  keeps  his  com- 
mandments, is  an  offering  infinitely  more  worthy. 

In  these  several  ways  the  injunction  may  be  observed  to 
"  honor  the  Son  even  as  we  honor  the  Father."  God  is  our 
Creator  and  Sovereign,  and  claims  our  reverence,  faith, 
love,  gratitude,  and  obedience.  Jesus  Christ  is  our  Lord 
and  Teacher,  our  Prince  and  Savior,  and  claims  our  rev- 
erence, faith,  love,  gratitude,  and  obedience.  Let  them  be 
yielded  to  him.  Let  the  homage  be  rendered,  which  belongs 
to  him  whom  God  has  ordained  to  be  the  religious  head  of 
the  present  dispensation  of  grace,  and  to  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness.  We  sit  beneath  his  empire ;  let  us  be  sub- 
ject to  him.  In  truth  and  holiness,  in  matters  of  conscience 
and  duty,  let  us  have  no  master  upon  earth  but  him.  This 
is  his  rightful  claim ;  let  it  be  given  to  no  one  else.  We 
1-2* 


138  ON    HONORING    THE    SON, 

break  our  allegiance  if  we  yield  to  any  other  the  dominion 
over  our  faith,  or  the  keeping  of  our  consciences.  This 
dominion  has  been  granted  to  Jesus  alone.  If  any  other 
exercise  it,  he  is  a  usurper.  If  any  allow  it  to  be  exer- 
cised, they  have  rebelled  against  their  spiritual  Prince,  and 
taken  from  his  head  the  crown  of  honor  which  God  had 
placed  there. 

And  yet,  how  prone  are  we  to  substitute  some  easier 
show  of  allegiance,  in  place  of  this  thorough  submission  of 
life  and  conscience  !  How  ready  are  we  to  be  loud  in  pro- 
fessions and  acclamations,  while  in  fact  we  have  another 
master,  and  follow  another  guide  !  The  disgrace  of  the 
church,  in  all  ages,  has  been  its  infatuated  adherence  to 
human  authority,  and  its  willing  subjection  to  human  heads. 
The  crown  has  been  torn  from  Him  whose  right  it  is  to 
reign,  and  placed  —  not  unfrequently  with  bloody  hands  — 
on  the  brows  of  arrogant  and  ambitious  persecutors,  who 
ostentatiously  became  the  infallible  interpreters  of  a  book 
which  they  had  sealed,  and  the  capricious  masters  of  the 
consciences  of  the  Christian  world.  And  thus,  while  the 
banner  of  the  cross  was  made  to  float  proudly  amid  their 
armies,  and  pomp,  and  parade,  and  splendid  ceremony  called 
the  wondering  multitude  to  gaze  at  the  honors  which  were 
lavished  on  the  Savior  of  the  world,  in  the  mean  time,  his 
authority  was  virtually  trodden  under  foot,  and  the  hearts 
of  men  were  far  from  him. 

The  church  is  not  yet  entirely  purified  from  these  sad 
corruptions.  The  disciples  do  not  yet  sufficiently  under- 
stand what  constitutes  the  true  honor  of  their  Master,  and 
of  his  gospel.  Too  many  think  it  sufficient  to  cry,  "  Lord, 
Lord,"  without  "  doing  the  things  which  he  says."  Too 
many  are  still  l)o\ving  down  to  creeds  and  confessions,  idols 
which  their  own  hands  have  made,  and  which  draw  away 


ON    HONORING    THE    SON.  139 

their  reverence  troiii  the  true  word  of  life.  Too  many  are 
still  taking  from  human  lips  the  interpretation  of  God's  will, 
while  its  sacred  records  lie  by  them  unsearched,  and  the 
voice  of  lliiu  who  "  spake  as  never  man  spake,"  is  not 
allowed  to  reach  the  understanding  or  the  heart,  till  it  has 
been  mingled  with  the  interpretation  of  some  later  master. 
Alas !  how  ha.s  the  Son  of  God  been  robbed  of  his  honors  ! 
How  have  they  been  transferred  to  men  !  Brethren,  do  not 
suffer  yourselves  to  be  so  deceived.  If  you  call  any  one 
nia.ster,  you  withdraw  your  idlegiance  from  Him  who  should 
be  your  only  Master  ;  you  exalt  a  frail  man  to  the  seat  of 
judgment,  where  God  has  placed  his  Ciirist ;  you  surrender 
your  faith  and  salvation  to  the  wisdom  of  a  fallible  being, 
who  ought  to  be  sitting  with  you  at  the  feet  of  your  com- 
mon Lord,  and  you  are  thus  exposed  to  the  hazard  of  his 
weakness,  errors,  and  sins.  Take,  therefore.  His  word  for 
your  guide.  All  that  you  may  say,  or  believe,  or  profess, 
respecting  his  dignity,  exaltation,  and  authority,  is  but 
empty  words,  but  unmeaning  profession,  if  your  consciences 
are  subject  to  any  other  dominion,  or  your  life  to  any  other 
law.  When  you  are  so  subject  to  the  spirit  and  influence 
of  his  truth,  that  men  shall  take  knowledge  of  you  that  you 
have  been  with  him,  and  learned  of  him,  then  you  will 
have  yielded  to  him  the  only  sufficient  tribute  —  the  only 
valuable  and  acceptable  homage  which  man  on  earth  can 
bring.  Then  you  may  know  that  you  are  his,  and  that 
your  labor  is  done ;  for  he  who  hath  the  Son  hath  the 
Father  also,  and  he  who  hath  the  Father  hath  everlast- 
ing life. 


SERMON    XI 


THE  EXAMPLE   OF  OUR   LORD 
HEBREWS   XII.   2. 

LOOKING   UNTO   JESUS,    THE    AUTHOR   AND   FINlSHErt    OF    OUR   FAITH, 

Thk  ap>ostle  had  been  naming,  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
a  long  catalogue  of  those  who  were  eminent  for  their  faith 
in  former  days.  In  the  first  verse  of  the  present  chapter, 
he  represents  them  as  a  "  cloud  of  witnesses,"  surrounding 
Christians,  by  whose  presence  they  should  be  excited  to  run 
well  the  race  set  before  them.  In  tlms  expressing  himself, 
he  evidently  alludes  to  the  public  games,  which  were  of 
such  celebrity  and  consequence  in  that  age  of  the  world. 
He  urges  Christians  to  persevere,  like  combatants  in  the 
race,  who  struggled  hard  for  the  prize,  and  to  be  animated 
by  the  attendant  crowd  of  witnesses;  and  as  a  further 
incitement,  directs  them,  in  our  text,  to  be  also  looking 
unto  Jesus,  "  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  their  faith."  Com- 
mentators, who  are  skilled  in  the  original  languages,  and 
acquainted  with  the  customs  of  former  times,  tell  us  that 
the  titles  here  given  to  Christ  are  those  which  belonged  to 
him  who  presided  at  the  games.  Mack  night  accordingly 
translates,  "  the  Captain  and  Perfecter  of  the  faith ;  "  and 
observes   that  "  the  apostle,  having  exhorted  the   Hebrews 


THK    EXAMPLE    OF    UUll    LORD.  141 

to  run  the  race  set  before  them,  compares  Jesus  to  the 
judge  of  the  games,  whose  office  it  was  to  determine  who 
were  tl»e  coiuiuerors,  and  to  make  them  perfect  as  com- 
batants by  bestowing  on  them  the  prizes." 

But  tliere  is  something  further  implied  than  even  this. 
The  apostle  speaks  of  him  as  one  who  has  himself  run  the 
siuiie  race,  in  spite  of  its  discouragements  and  hardships, 
and  is  now  enjoying  its  rewards ;  "  who,  for  the  joy  set 
before  hini,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is 
now  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God  ;  " 
whom  we  are,  therefore,  to  regard  as  an  example  to  our- 
selves, and  to  animate  our  flagging  spirits  by  remembering 
that,  as  "  he  overcame,  and  is  set  down  with  his  Father  on 
his  throne,  so,  if  we  overcome,  we  shall  sit  down  with  him 
on  his  tlirone." 

The  disciples  of  Jesus  are  thus,  in  the  passage  before  us, 
directed  to  "  look  unto  him  "  as  their  Leader,  their  Judge, 
and  their  Example;  exalted  at  the  right  hand  of  God's 
throne,  because  "  he  endured  the  cross,  and  despised  the 
shame."  By  the  example  of  their  Master,  thus  honored 
and  exalted,  the  disciples  are  exhorted  to  be  encouraged 
and  strengthened.  It  is  this  exhortation  upon  which  we 
are  to  meditate  at  the  present  time.  Brethren,  I  wish  you 
to  contemplate  Jesus  to-day  as  your  Example.  I  wish  to 
bring  up  to  your  minds  and  hearts  the  pattern  of  your  be- 
loved and  honored  Lord,  and  to  show  you  how  great 
encouragement,  aid,  comfort,  and  holy  peace,  may  be  ob- 
tained irj  all  duty,  trial,  and  sorrow,  by  habitually  and  fer- 
vently kxjking  unto  him. 

The  power  of  example  is  too  well  known  to  need  to  be 
much  insisted  on.  Man  has  been  called  —  and  with  some 
propriety — the  creature  of  imitation.  The  character  of 
children  is  very  much  formed  on  the  model  of  their  parents, 


142  THE  EXABIPLE  OF  OUR  LORD 

and  of  those  companions  with  whom  they  familiarly  asso- 
ciate. Every  parent  knows  the  importance'  of  this  consid- 
eration in  selecting  the  person  by  whom  his  children  shall 
be  instructed,  and  the  school  at  which  they  shall  find  com- 
panions. The  power  of  example  is  plainly  seen  in  the 
formation  of  national  character.  Every  separate  commu- 
nity among  men,  whether  larger  or  smaller,  is  distinguished 
by  certain  peculiarities  of  character  and  habit.  These  are 
to  be  traced  almost  exclusively  to  the  influence  of  example, 
the  manners  of  one  generation  being  caught  by  the  next, 
and  transmitted  down  from  sire  to  son  indefinitely.  The 
power  of  example  is  also  seen  in  the  religions  of  the  world. 
Men  have  imitated  the  deities  whom  they  have  worshiped, 
and  formed  in  themselves  the  characters  which  they  sup- 
posed to  exist  in  their  gods.  "  The  gods  of  the  heathen  are 
vanity  and  a  lie ;  they  that  make  them  are  like  unto  them  ; 
so  is  every  one  that  trusteth  in  them."  When  the  divin- 
ities, to  whom  worship  and  devotion  were  paid,  were  be- 
lieved to  be  possessed  of  human  passions,  and  to  be  guilty 
of  human  vices,  —  when  their  histories  were  filled  with  self- 
ishness, cruelty,  revenge,  lust,  and  every  immorality,  —  it  is 
not  strange  that  men  took  countenance  from  their  examples, 
and  went  to  an  extravagant  dissoluteness  of  manners,  into 
which,  without  such  encouragement,  they  could  hardly  have 
fallen.  As  much  of  the  prevalent  vice  of  heathen  nations 
is  to  be  ascribed  to  this  cause,  so,  doubtless,  much  of  the 
prevalent  virtue  of  the  Christian  world  is  to  be  attributed  to 
the  character  of  the  true  God,  as  he  is  there  worshiped. 
In  Christian  lands,  too,  the  efiicacy  of  example  has  been 
witnessed  and  valued  in  the  use  which  has  always  been 
made  of  the  lives  of  the  apostles,  saints,  and  martyrs.  In 
memory  of  their  excellence,  some  churches  have  established 
festivals,  and  others  have  published  records  of  their  lives, 


THE  EXAMPLE  OF  OUR  LORD.  14Ji 

and  circulated  volumes  in  their  praise.  There  can  be  no 
doubt,  that  much  hafe  in  this  way  been  done  to  excite  and 
strengtiien  in  the  practice  of  religion  and  virtue.  Living 
and  breathing  patterns  of  excellence  are  placed  before  the 
wayfaring  Christian.  He  witnesses  their  ardor,  is  made 
acquainted  with  their  anxious  labors,  hears  of  their  severe 
trials  and  persevering  fidelity ;  and  by  observing  how  they 
watched  and  prayed,  toiled  and  suffered,  learns  to  go  and 
do  likewise. 

Our  own  experience  may  perhaps  confirm  to  us  these 
remarks.  How  often  has  a  holy  zeal  been  kindled  within 
us,  while  we  have  read  of  the  faith  and  patience  of  some 
eminent  servant  of  God  who  has  gone  before  us  ?  How 
have  our  resolutions  to  do  and  to  suffer  been  confirmed, 
when  we  have  listened  to  the  story  of  another's  unshaken 
fidelity  and  unwearying  perseverance !  Next  to  the  reading 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  appointed  preaching  of  God's 
word,  religion  doubtless  owes  more  to  the  persuasion  of 
pious  example  than  to  all  other  causes.  Every  Christian 
can  remember  instances  in  which  it  has  given  ardor  to  his 
faith,  and  confidence  to  his  virtue,  and  comfort  to  his  trou- 
bles. The  thought  of  what  Howard  did  has  prompted  the 
benevolence  of  thousands ;  and  the  zeal  of  Clarkson  has 
kindled  a  flame  in  a  multitude  of  souls.  Many  are  they 
that  have  been  affected  and  won  by  the  beautiful  life  of 
Fenelon,  and  caught  the  contagion  of  religion  from  the 
breathing  spirit  of  Watts,  or  the  singular  excellence  of 
Cappe.  In  a  word,  whatever  other  means  may  have  been 
enjoyed,  it  is  the  example  of  the  holy  and  good,  which  has 
excited  the  energy  of  their  minds,  and  made  them  capable 
of  great  and  perilous  enterprises,  and  filled  them  with  long- 
ings after  perfection. 

But  if  such  be    the    value    and    effect  of  contemplating 


144  THE    EXAMPLE    OF    OTTR    LORD, 

those  who  have  exhibited  before  us  Christian  faith  and 
obedience,  —  if  we  may  be  thus  moved  and  animated  by 
the  example  of  imperfect  men,  who,  after  all,  have  fol- 
lowed their  holy  Master  only  at  a  distance,  —  what  might 
not  be  the  effect  of  bringing  home  to  our  minds,  and  set- 
ting before  us  in  our  lives,  the  perfect  example  of  that 
blessed  Master  himself?  I  fear,  brethren,  that  we  place 
him  too  far  from  us.  I  fear  that  we  too  much  neglect  to 
bring  him  near,  and  keep  him  before  us,  and  realize  the 
manner  of  his  conversation  and  life  ;  and  that  he  requires 
us,  not  only  to  do  according  to  his  commandment,  but  ac- 
cording to  his  example.  Yet  why  should  we  not  realize 
this?  Why  not  literally  make  him  our  Pattern?  Why  not, 
in  every  season,  "  look  to  him  ;  "  think  how  he  did  in  a  simi- 
lar situation ;  what  dispositions  he  indulged  on  similar  occa- 
sions ;  how  he  would  conduct  himself,  and  how  feel,  in  cir- 
cumstances like  our  own  ?  Is  not  this  practicable?  Would 
it  not  greatly  assist  us  ?  Would  it  not  often  deliver  us  in 
perplexity  and  error  ?  It  is  true,  he  lived  many  ages  ago. 
But  time  and  distance  are  nothing  in  a  case  like  this.  The 
mind  has  power  to  bring  him  near,  and  he  is  as  important 
and  personal  a  friend  now,  as  if  we  had  lived  in  his  own 
day.  It  is  true,  also,  his  example  is  in  a  sense  so  perfect, 
that  we  may  not  hope  to  equal  it.  But  this  should  be  no 
discouragement.  It  should  rather  animate  us  the  more.  It 
is  an  old  proverb,  that  he  who  aims  at  the  sun,  to  be  sure 
will  not  reach  it,  but  his  arrow  will  fly  higher  than  if  he 
aimed  at  an  object  on  a  level  with  himself  Just  so,  if 
other  men  are  our  standard,  we  shall  never  be  better  than 
other  men;  probably  not  so  good.  But  if  we  imitate  Jesus, 
we  shall  certainly  rise  above  them,  though  we  sh:ill  come 
far  short  of  him.  Besides,  there  is  nothing  impracticable 
in  the  virtues  of  Jesus ;  that  is  to  say,  nothing  which    is 


THE    EXAiMPLE    OF    OUR   LORD.  145 

above  the  earth,  and  the  concerns  or  wants  of  the  earth,  in 
such  a  sense  as  to  be  unsuitable  to  men,  or  to  render  it 
romantic  for  them  to  practise  it.  On  the  contrary,  liis  is 
one  of  the  most  practical  characters  in  the  world  ;  exliibit- 
ing  specimens  of  the  very  dispositions,  principles,  habits, 
which  are  of  the  most  constant  and  indispensable  need  in 
the  intercourse  and  duties  of  life.  What  more  so  than  his 
invariable  gentleness,  his  untiring  benevolence,  his  ready 
forgiveness,  his  humility  and  condescension,  his  meekness 
and  patience,  his  cheerful  contentment,  his  activity  in  duty, 
his  fortitude  in  suffering,  his  unreserved  trust  in  divine 
Providence,  his  holy  submission  to  the  divine  will  ?  These 
are  the  prominent  features  in  his  human  character.  These 
are  the  qualities  in  which  he  should  be  our  example ;  they 
are  qualities  every  day,  every  hour,  needed,  and  the  posses- 
sion of  which  would  render  every  day,  every  hour,  tranquil, 
lovely,  and  happy.  And  this  example  is  set  before  us  as 
one  which  we  should  by  no  means  gaze  at  with  despair, 
because  exhibited  by  one  who  —  in  the  language  of  holy 
writ  —  "was  made  in  all  points  like  unto  his  brethren; 
who  took  not  on  him  the  nature  of  angels,  but  the  seed  of 
Abraham ;  as  the  children  are  made  partakers  of  flesh  and 
blood,  so  he  also  himself  took  part  in  the  same ;  was  in  all 
points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  though  without  sin  ;  and, 
though  a  Son,  yet  learned  obedience  by  the  things  which  he 
suffered."  In  this  language  of  the  sacred  volume,  we  find 
him  represented  as  passing  through  the  infirmities  and  trials 
of  life,  obeying  and  suffering  in  all  things  like  his  brethren, 
and  in  all  things  an  example  to  his  brethren ;  who,  by  wit- 
nessing his  temptations  and  trials,  his  "  strong  crying  and 
tears,"  his  obedience  and  faithfulness,  may  learn  what  they 
ought  to  do,  and  how  they  should  do  it ;  and  may  be  com- 
forted, strengthened,  and  supported  in  all,  by  looking  unto 
13 


146  THE  EXAMPLE  OF  OUK  LORIT. 

him.  In  respect  of  such  things,  says  the  apostle,  "  he  Is 
not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren  ;  "  and  how  encouraging 
to  them  may  be  the  thought,  that,  in  seeking  to  become 
"heirs  of  God,"  they  are  "joint  heirs  with  Christ"  ! 

Is  there  not  something  possible  —  I  had  almost  said, 
something  easy  —  in  setting  up  before  us  such  a  Pattern  ! 
If  we  should  do  it  faithfully,  would  not  our  hearts  cleave  to 
it  1  and  should  we  not  soon  learn  to  loathe  every  path,  ia 
which  we  had  not  seen  his  pure  feet  tread  1  Should  we 
not  delight  to  gaze  upon  his  benevolence  and  piety,  his 
activity  and  patience,  his  humility  and  fortitude  ?  and  while 
we  contemplated  them  familiarly,  should  we  not  even  copy 
them  involuntarily,  and  grow  like  him,  as  a  child  grows  like 
its  beloved  parent, —  unconsciously,  and  because  we  could 
not  escape  the  celestial  contagion  ? 

It  must  be  evident,  then,  that  our  Lord's  example  is  not 
such  a  one  as  we  cannot  follow,  but  has  been  most  wisely 
and  kindly  adapted  to  our  situation  and  wants.  If,  then,  the 
power  of  example  over  man  be  great,  as  we  have  seen,  and 
that  of  good  men  have  done  so  much  to  influence  and  form 
human  character,  the  value  of  this  example,  if  faithfully 
applied  to  our  lives,  and  assiduously  followed,  must  be  great 
beyond  all  (jjilculation.  There  is  no  good  feeling  which  it 
might  not  perfect,  no  amiable  virtue  which  It  might  not 
form,  no  suffering  which  it  would  not  enable  us  to  hear,  no 
temptation  which  it  might  not  help  us  to  subdue.  It  would 
be  a  present  aid,  a  sure  counsellor,  an  unerring  guide,  in 
every  perplexity,  trial,  and  duty.  The  world  migiit  fling 
around  you  her  most  fearful  shades  of  darkness  and  despair, 
and  every  human  power  be  ready  to  shrink  from  the  path  in 
which  Providence  should  lead  you  ;  but  yet,  steadfastly  look- 
ing unto  Jesus, —  who  once  endured  it  all,  —  observing  how 
l\e  struggled,  how  he  conquered,   and  how  he  is  exalted. 


THE  EXAMPLE  OF  OUR  LORD,  147 

you  would  feel  a  strength  by  wliich  you  might  dissipate  the 
cloud  and  the  terror,  and  find  every  mountain  and  hill 
brought  low;  yea,  you  might  even,  as  the  Lord  promised 
his  disciples,  "  tread  on  serpents^  and  scorpions,  and  all  the 
power  of  the  enemy ;  and  nothing  should  by  any  means 
hurt  you." 

This  may  be  made  yet  plainer  by  observing  its  operation 
in  a  few  particular  cases. 

You  desire  to  know  by  what  dispositions  toward  God  you 
may  attain  his  acceptance.  You  know,  indeed,  that  su- 
preme love  to  him  is  the  commandment ;  but  you  would 
learn  more  definitely  in  what  this  love  consists,  and  in  what 
kind  of  demeanor  it  exhibits  itself.  "  Look  unto  Jesus, 
and  learn  of  him  "  —  the  fairest,  the  fullest  example  of  per- 
fect love.  You  see  it  in  him  an  essential,  all-pervading, 
ever-operating  principle ;  not  distinct  and  separate  from 
every  other  feature  of  his  character,  but  inwoven  with  all 
the  others,  and  inseparable  from  them ;  the  spirit  of  all, 
rather  than  a  spirit  by  itself  It  is  exhibited  in  a  calm, 
equal,  and  unwavering  contentment;  because  he  entirely 
trusts  Ilim  whom  he  loves ;  in  quiet,  solemn,  and  constant 
intercourse  with  him  in  prayer  ;  not  in  noisy  and  extrava- 
gant raptures,  but  in  the  deep  and  fervent  communion  of  a 
full  heart,  whose  feeling  is  too  real  to  be  loud.  Especially 
it  is  exhibited  in  anxious  cflbrts  and  ready  sacrifices  to  do 
his  will,  and  accomplish  the  appointed  work  of  his  good 
pleasure.  Fix  your  eye  upon  this  beautiful  pattern  of  per- 
fect piety,  follow  these  steps,  and  you  will  never  need  be  at 
a  loss  for  the  path  of  the  perfect  love  of  God. 

Perhaps  you  are  beset  with  teniptation.  The  world  and 
Bin  entice  you.  They  have  .spread  their  snares,  and  placed 
you  amid  bad  and  seducing  companions,  from  whom  you 


148  THE  EXAMPLE  OF  OUR  LORD. 

can  hardly  hope  to  escape  without  corruption.  Your  reso- 
lutions are  assailed,  and  your  faith  seems  about  to  be 
wrecked.  "  Look  unto  Jesus ;  "  remember  him,  tempted 
in  all  points  as  you  are,  that  he  might  be  able  to  "  succor 
those  who  are  tempted."  Remember  how  he  struggled 
with  the  adversary  of  souls  in  the  desert,  and  overcame  the 
strongest  solicitations  —  solicitations  to  which  yours  are  not 
to  be  compared.  Remember  how  the  trial  of  his  soul 
wrought  an  agony  in  the  garden,  when  so  strongly  tempted 
to  refuse  the  cup  that  was  prepared  for  him.  Remember 
how,  in  those  trying  seasons,  he  summoned  to  his  aid  the 
word  of  God,  and  baffled  the  tempter  with  this  "  sword  of 
the  Spirit ;  "  and  bow  he  waxed  strong  and  became  con- 
queror by  persevering  in  prayer.  Go  thou,  and  do  likewise. 
No  temptation  is  too  powerful  for  him  who  will  watch  and 
pray  like  his  holy  Lord ;  and  do  not  thou  lose  an  honorable 
place  in  his  kingdom  by  weakly  shrinking  from  a  contest, 
in  which  he  hath  taught  thee  how  to  fight,  and  to  become 
more  than  conqueror. 

Here  is  another  man,  beset  by  the  sin  of  pride.  A  lofty 
spirit  and  high  heart  are  his  glory.  He  despises  others,  and 
lives  only  to  aggrandize  himself  My  friend,  "  look  unto 
Jesus."  He  —  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith  —  the 
noblest  personage  that  ever  walked  the  earth — who  pos- 
sessed more  than  human  knowledge  and  wisdom,  and 
wielded  the  powers  of  Heaven  —  are  you  greater  than  he, 
that  you  should  thus  exalt  yourself,  while  he  was  so  humble, 
so  lowly,  so  unassuming  ?  Behold  him,  who  stripped  him- 
self of  his  honors,  who  took  "the  form  of  a  servant,"  who 
came,  "  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,'"  —  and 
blush  for  your  own  swelling  importance.  There  is  no  pride 
in  Jesus.     How  unbecoming,  then,  in  you  !    How  despicable 


TilE    EXAMPLE    OF    OUR    LORD.  149 

do  the  vain  and  haughty  appear  by  the  side  of  the  unassum- 
ing and  condescending  liumility  which  graced  the  life  of 
the  Son  of  God!  How  little  able  will  you  be  to  indulge 
emotions  of  arrogance  and  self-sufiiciency,  if  you  faitlifully 
set  before  you  that  beautiful  and  affecting  example ! 

Here  is  another,  the  slave  of  angry  and  revengeful  pas- 
sions, easily  provoked  to  wrath,  and  betrayed  to  violence. 
"  Look  unto  Jesus;  learn  of  him  who  was  meek  and  lowly 
in  heart."  Is  there  any  thing  more  lovely  than  his  equable 
and  long-suffering  gentleness,  "  who,  though  reviled,  reviled 
not  again  ;  though  he  suffered,  threatened  not,  but  submitted 
himself  to  Him  that  judgeth  righteously?  "  Why  may  not 
you  do  likewise?  Why  icilt  you  not  do  likewise?  Why 
should  not  patience  and  meekness  be  honorable  in  you  as 
well  as  in  him?  And  why  should  revenge  and  passion  be 
less  odious  ?  Be  but  familiar  with  his  quiet  temper,  and 
feel  how  lovely  it  is  in  him,  and  you  cannot  cherish  those 
opposite  dispositions,  which  will  then  be  hateful  in  your 
sight. 

Again,  you  are  perhaps  suffering  from  the  injuries  of 
men  and  the  injustice  of  the  world ;  you  have  been  wronged, 
or  disgraced,  or  persecuted;  and  how  shall  you  conduct 
yourself  under  these  aggravated  evils  ?  "  Look  unto  Jesus," 
and  take  instruction  from  his  example.  You  see  in  him  no 
boiling  indignation,  no  impatience  of  revenge,  no  returning 
of  malice  for  malice.  But  his  .spirit,  though  oppressed,  still 
retains  its  serenity,  and,  turning  from  the  injustice  of  man, 
finds  repose  on  the  justice  of  God.  Be  not  you,  then,  im- 
patient. Be  not  you  overwhelmed  by  passion  or  despair. 
Your  sufferings  cannot  compare  with  his ;  and  shall  you  not 
at  least  strive  to  bear  them  like  him  ?  You  cannot  meet 
equal  injustice ;  and  will  you  not  seek  at  least  for  equal 
13* 


150  THE   EXAMPLE   OF   OTJR  LORD. 

composure?  Behold  him,  who  had  spent  the  faithful  days 
of  a  laborious  life  in  doing  good ;  whose  only  care  was  to 
benefit  mankind ;  and  who  displayed  an  extent  of  active 
benevolence  never  before  even  imagined  ;  yet  assailed  by 
those  very  persons  for  whom  he  had  been  laboring,  cruelly 
arraigned  before  an  unfeeling  tribunal  on  a  false  pretence, 
and  subjected  to  all  the  ignominy  and  torture  of  a  mock 
trial  —  smitten  —  buffeted  —  scourged  —  derided  —  insult- 
ed —  dragged  away  to  a  lingering  and  disgraceful  death. 
Have  you  endured  hardship  and  injustice  to  be  named  with 
this  ?  Yet  no  murmur  escapes  him  ;  no  passion  ruffles  his 
composure  ;  no  resentment  flashes  from  his  meek  and  sup- 
plicating eye ;  no  accent  of  wrath  or  threatening  comes 
from  his  oppressed  and  dying  bosom  ;  but  even  in  the  last 
moment  of  mortal  agony,  he  lifts  his  compassionate  voice 
in  a  prayer  of  mercy  —  "Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do ! "  In  the  hour  of  suffering  and 
despair,  reflect  upon  this  scene;  try  if  you  cannot  catch 
something  of  the  spirit  of  your  Master,  and  bear  your  trial 
like  him. 

Perhaps  you  have  afflictions  of  another  kir^d.  Calamity 
and  death  visit  your  dwelling,  and  the  lights  in  which  you 
rejoice  are  quenched  by  your  side.  Your  friends  are  re- 
moved, your  hopes  are  destroyed,  and  you  sit  in  thick  dark- 
ness, desponding  and  alone.  Here,  too,  the  example  of 
Jesus  may  clieer  and  sustain  you.  Look  therefore  to  him. 
Call  to  mind  the  instructions  which  he,  the  Author  and  Fin- 
isher of  your  faith,  has  given,  concerning  the  government 
of  your  Father,  and  the  purposes  of  his  providence.  CiUl 
to  mind  also  the  day  when  he  bore  the  calamities  which 
God  had  appointed  him;  when  he  was  emphatically  "  a  man 
of  sorrows   r.ml   accjuaiuted   with    grief; "   when    he    might 


THE  EXAMPLE  OF  OUR  LORD.  l&l 

have  cried  to  you  and  said,  "  Come  and  see,  all  ye  that  pass 
by,  if  there  be  any  sorrow  like  unto  my  sorrow."  Yet  you 
see  him,  not  giving  way  to  the  grief,  not  overcome  by  the 
sorrow,  but  struggling  against  it,  looking  up  to  God  witli 
serene  and  holy  trust,  casting  his  spirit  on  his  Father  with 
unrepining  and  tranquil  submission.  "  The  cup  which 
my  Father  hath  given  me,  shall  I  not  drink  it?"  This  is 
no  example  of  unfeeling  composure,  of  stoical  insensibility, 
of  unnatural  fortitude.  Jesus  struggled,  even  to  an  agony, 
that  he  might  attain  it.  Go,  heart-broken  mourner,  and 
do  likewise.  Go,  as  he  did,  and  pray  —  not  once,  but 
twice,  and  thrice ;  and  God  will  answer  you,  too,  by  "  an 
angel  from  heaven  to  strengthen  you "  —  not  indeed  in  a 
visible  form,  but  in  an  inward  peace.  It  is  no  sin  to  mourn 
and  weep.  Jesus  wept.  The  sin  lies  in  refusing  to  look 
for  comfort,  in  obstinately  murmuring  against  the  hand  of 
God,  in  complaining  of  his  severity.  Jesus  even  prayed 
that  "  the  cup  might  pass  from  him."  But  not  repiningly, 
not  rebelliously.  He  added,  with  filial  submission,  "  Nev- 
ertheless, not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done."  Brethren,  this 
example  is  of  infinite  wortli  to  us.  Dwell  upon  it  in  the 
day  of  your  sorrow.  Imitate  it  in  the  hour  of  your  trouble. 
You  will  not  fail  to  attain  something  of  the  peace  which  the 
Savior  promised  to  his  followers,  and  which  God  gives  to 
all  those  "  whose  hearts  are  stayed  on  hira,  and  who  trust 
in  him." 

In  these  various  ways  may  the  contemplation  of  our  Lord's 
example  help  to  guide  and  support  us  in  the  weary  pilgrim- 
age of  life.  Through  its  vicissitudes  of  joy  and  sorrow, 
duty  and  suffering,  perplexity  and  fear,  it  may  keep  our 
hearts  equal  and  our  faith  firm.  At  its  close,  it  may  deliver 
us  from  fear,  and  make  us  more  than   conquerors,  through 


152  THE  EXAMPLE  OF  OUR  LORD. 

him  that  hath  loved  us.  And  in  lieaven  —  it  may  have 
helped  to  prepare  us  for  the  peace  of  that  holy  rest,  wliicli 
remains  for  the  people  of  God. 

Blessed  be  God,  who  hath  given  us  such  a  Leader ! 
Happy,  thrice  happy  we,  if  we  be  enabled  successfully  to 
follow  him ! 


SERMON    XII. 


THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH. 
HAGGAI   II.   3. 

WHO  IS  LEFT  AMONG  YOU  THAT  SAW  THIS  HOUSE   IN   HER  FIRST   GLORY  I" 

Tub  house,  my  brethren,  in  which  we  assemble  to  wor- 
ship, has  been  occupied  a  hundred  years.  It  was  dedicated 
to  that  holy  service  to  which  it  has  always  been  sacred,  on 
the  tenth  day  of  May,  1721  ;  a  century  from  which  date,  al- 
lowing for  the  difference  of  style,  is  this  very  day  completed. 
An  epoch  so  interesting,  so  fitted  to  recall  the  remembrance 
of  past  years,  and  to  excite  to  salutary  contemplation  on  the 
vicissitudes  of  a  transitory  world,  and  the  dispensations  of 
an  unchanging  God,  I  am  not  willing  to  pass  without  ex- 
plicit and  large  notice.  It  has  been  customary  in  our 
churches,  on  such  an  occasion,  to  review  the  way  through 
which  God  has  led  them,  and  recount  the  history  of  his 
providence  to  their  fathers.  It  is  a  good  custom.  And  I 
doubt  not,  brethren,  that  you  will  be  interested  to  go  back 
with  me,  and  trace  the  story  of  this  church,  and  the  char- 
acter and  doings  of  its  ministers  and  people.  To  this  ob- 
ject I  purpose  to  devote  the  discourses  of  this  day ;  and 
though  none  are  left  that  saw  the  first  glory  of  this  house,  we 
may  thus  all  learn  what  it  was  —  may  find  that  it  has  at  no 


■154  THE    OLD    NORTH    CHURCH. 

period  been  withdrawn,  and  is  not,  even  now,  wholly  de- 
parted. 

We  are  not  confined,  however,  in  this  survey,  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  last  hundred  years,  but  are  led  back  through  the 
seventy  years  previous.  It  is  well  known  to  many  of  you, 
though  probably  not  to  all,  that  the  church  in  this  place  is 
formed  by  the  union  of  two  churches.  When  the  Old 
North  meeting-house,  which  stood  at  the  head  of  North 
Square,  had  been  destroyed  by  the  British  troops  at  the 
commencement  of  the  revolutionary  war,  the  minister  and 
people  united  with  the  minister  and  people  worshiping  in 
this  house,  and  became  one  church  and  congregation  with 
them.  The  late  venerable  Dr.  Lathrop,  who  so  long  minis- 
tered here,  was  ordained,  not  over  the  church  in  this  place, 
but  over  the  church  in  North  Square,  and  became  pastor  of 
the  church  in  this  place  by  the  transfer  of  his  relation  after 
his  own  meeting-house  had  been  destroyed.  We  are,  there- 
fore, equally  interested  in  the  history  of  the  Old  North,  as 
of  the  New  Brick  *  Church,  for  it  was  equally  the  home  of 
our  ancestors.  It  is  a  history,  too,  that  deserves  our  atten- 
tion ;  for  it  was  the  second  religious  establishment  in  this 
important  place,  and  numbers  amongst  its  ministers  some 
of  the  remarkable  names  of  New  England.  To  this,  there- 
fore, I  ask  your  first  attention. 

The  town  of  Boston  having  been  settled  in  1630,  ten 
years  after  the  landing  at  Plymouth,  the  first  building  for 
public  worsliij)  was  erected  in  1032.  This  was  sufficient 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  inhabitants  for  nearly  twenty 
years.     The  population   had  then  so  increased  as  to  render 

■*  Tho  prosont  building  retains  its  original  name  of  the  J\'cw  Brick. 
The  churcli  is  known  by  the  style  of  the  Second  Church,  as  it  yvas 
a  minister  of  the  Second  Church  under  whom  the  union  was  made. 
The  name  of  the  Old  A'orth  is  dropped. 


THE    OLD   NOllTH    CUURCII.  155 

another  building  necesa.iry  ;  and  accordingly  the  people  in 
the  north  part  of  the  town,  which  was  most  populous,  built 
tiie  second  meeting-house,  at  the  head  of  North  Sipiare,  in 
1049.*  The  church  was  gathered  there  on  the  fifth  day  of 
June  the  next  year,  and  consisted  at  first  of  seven  mem- 
bers. ( I)  t  A  sermon  was  preached  on  the  occasion  by  Samuel 
Mather,  —  a  native  of  England,  but  educated  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege,—  who  was  earnestly  solicited'to  remain  as  pastor  of 
the  church  ;  but  for  reasons  of  which  we  know  nothing,  he 
went  to  England,  and  was  for  twenty-one  years  minister  in 
various  places,  an  eminent  and  respected  man.  (2)  After- 
ward Mr.  Norton,  minister  of  Ipswich,  who,  two  years  after, 
became  minister  of  the  First  Church  in  this  town,  and  Mr. 
Davenport  of  New  Haven,  who,  seventeen  years  after,  also 
became  minister  of  the  First  Church, —  both  of  them  among 
the  distinguished  men  of  that  period ;  and  "  sundry  others 
who  were  officers  in  other  churches,  but  likely  to  remove 
from  the  places  where  they  were,  "  J  —  were  invited,  unsuc- 
cessfully, to  take  charge  of  this  infant  church.  For  a  few 
years,  therefore,  one  of  the  brethren,  Michael  Powell,  con- 
ducted the  worship  of  God's  house,  and  to  such  satisfaction 
that  he  would  have  been  ordained  teacher,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  interference  of  the  General  Court,  who  "  would  not 
suffer  one,  that  was  illiterate  as  to  academical  education,  to 
be  called  to  the  teaching  office  in  such  a  place  as  Bos- 
ton" | —  a  circumstance  which  is  well  worth  noticing,  as 
it  exemplifies  the  jealous  care  with  which  our  fathers  guard- 
ed the  dignity   and  character  of  the  public   institutions  of 

"  I  do  not  find  any  account  of  the  dedication,  and  cannot  tell 
whether  tiie  meeting-house  was  first  occupied  in  l(i4i)  or  IGoO. 

t  The  figures  refer  to  the  notes  at  the  end  ol"  sermons  XII. 
and  XIII. 

t  Church  Records. 


156  THE    OLD   NORTH   CUUIICII. 

religion.  After  four  years  passed  in  this  state,  Mr.  John 
Mayo,  who,  on  account  of  some  "difficulties  and  discourage- 
ments," had  left  his  church  at  Nosset,  in  Plymouth  colony, 
was  called  to  the  pastoral  office  here,  and  ordained  the  9th 
of  November,  1055.  At  the  same  time,  Mr.  Powell  was  or- 
dained as  ruling  elder  of  the  church.  Mr.  Powell  was 
soon  after  incapacitated  for  all  labor  by  a  paralytic  affection, 
and  his  office  became. vacant.*  I  do  not  find  that  it  was 
ever  again  filled. 

About  this  time,t  Increase  Mather,  brother  of  him  before 
mentioned,  returned  to  this  country,  and  was  soon  invited  to 
the  office  of  teacher  in  the  Second  Church.  After  two 
years'  hesitation,  he  accepted,  on  certain  conditions,  and  was 
ordained  the  27th  day  of  May,  1G64. 

The  pastor  and  teacher  |  continued  laboring  together  un- 
til the  year  IGTO,  when  Mr.  Mayo's  increasing  infirmities 
made  it  necessary  for  his  ministry  to  cease.  Three  years 
afterward,  he  removed  to  Barnstable,  and  there  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  days  with  his  daughter.  He  died  at  Yar- 
mouth, in  May,  1676,  advanced  in  years,  but  at  what  precise 
age  is  not  known.  We  have  no  means  of  acquainting  our- 
selves with  his  history  or  character  beyond  what  is  here 
stated.  (;J) 

After  the  removal  of  Mr.  Mayo,  Dr.  Mather  held  his  office 

*  He  died  January  28,  lG72-'3. 

f   September,  IGGl. 

t  In  the  early  records  of  the  church,  these  titles  are  apjtlied  alter- 
nately to  the  ministers  as  they  were  settled,  evidently  without  any 
difference  in  the  nature,  tenure,  or  duties,  of  the  ollice.  Cotton 
Mather  says,  (Rat.  Disc.  p.  42,)  that,  when  the  churches  had  more 
than  one  pastor,  "  one  of  them  formerly  was  distinguished  by  the 
name  of  teacher ;  though,  in  regard  of  their  work  and  their  power 
among  these  churches,  it  has  been  so  much  distinctio  sine  differentia, 
that  more  lately  the  distinction  is  less  regarded." 


THE    OLD    iNORTH    ClIURCK.  157 

alone,  until  his  son,  Cotton  Mather,  was  ordained  as  a  col- 
league, May  13,  1GS4.  During  tliese  years,  the  church  ap- 
pears to  have  been  prosperous,  growing  with  the  growth  of 
the  town,  A  great  misfortune,  however,  befell  them  in  the 
burning  of  the  meeting-house  in  IGTG.  (4)  It  was  rebuilt 
the  next  year,  and  then  stood  for  a  century.  The  prosperi- 
ty of  the  church,  after  this  event,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
circumstance,  that  within  six  years  it  became  necessary  to 
build  a  gallery  for  the  better  accommodation  of  the  hear- 
ers. (5) 

Indeed,  the  character  and  reputation  of  Increase  Mather 
were  such,  tliat  we  should  expect  to  find  a  crowded  attend- 
ance on  his  ministrations.  He  was  one  of  the  eminent  men 
of  his  times,  and  few  possessed  and  wielded  a  wider  influence. 
And,  although  there  were  those,  as  there  always  will  be 
around  an  elevated  man,  especially  if  he  take  a  leading  part 
in  political  transactions,  who  were  inimical  to  his  authority, 
yet  in  church  and  state,  in  religious  and  in  civil  affairs,  he 
was  looked  up  to  as  a  leader,  equally  active,  distinguished, 
and  trusted.  This  was  partly  owing  to  the  peculiar  state  of 
society  amongst  the  early  Puritan  .settlers,  who,  in  their  design 
of  forming  a  "  Christian  commonwealth,"  naturally  placed 
much  of  the  power  of  government  in  the  hands  of  the  rulers 
of  the  church  ;  and  the  authority,  which  was  in  the  first 
years  exercised  by  the  holy  and  able  ministers  who  led  the 
feeble  colonists,*  and  by  their  energy  and  prayers  sustained 
them  in  their  dark  days  of  fear  and  danger,  continued  to 
abide  to  the  last  with  Increase  Mather.     We  must  not,  how- 

"  No  instance  of  tliis  autliority  is  more  remarkable  than  lliat  of 
Cotton,  minister  of  the  First  Church.  "  Whatever,"  says  Hubbard, 
♦«  Mr.  Cotton  delivered  was  soon  put  into  an  order  of  court,  if  of  a 
civil,  or  set  up  as  a  practice  in  the  church,  if  of  an  cccksiastical 
concernment." 

14 


158  THE   OLD   NORTH   CHURCH. 

ever,  attribute  too  much  to  the  character  of  the  age ;  much, 
doubtless,  was  owing  to  the  rare  qualities  of  the  man.  For 
three  generations,  (6)  that  family  was  distinguished  by  ex- 
traordinary gifts.  There  were  many  men  amongst  them  on 
whom  nature  had  bestowed  the  power  to  be  great,  and  they 
evidenced  that  power  in  the  influence  with  which  they 
swayed  their  fellow-men.  Increase  Mather  had  his  full 
share  of  these  qualities.  Ardent,  bold,  enterprising,  and 
perhaps  ambitious  ;  conscious  of  his  own  power,  religiously 
sensible  of  his  obligations  to  exercise  it  usefully ;  born  and 
trained  in  a  young  colony  struggling  with  hardships,  and 
forcing  its  way  through  peril  and  fear ;  his  mind  fashioned 
by  a  father,  who  for  conscience'  sake  had  quitted  all  and 
settled  in  this  hopeless  land,  and  who  had  all  the  zeal  and 
firmness  which  characterized  the  Puritans  of  that  age,  a 
race  eminently  formed  "  to  do  and  to  dare  ;  " — thus  gifted 
and  educated,  he  became  peculiarly  fit,  and  no  wonder  it 
was  felt  that  he  was  fit,  to  have  an  ascendency  and  exercise 
a  control.  He  had  received  the  best  education  of  his  own 
country  ;  he  had  completed  it  abroad ;  he  had  been  driven 
from  place  to  place,  suffering  for  his  religion,  and  presented 
with  strong  temptations  to  abandon  it,  thus  acting  a  hur- 
ried and  various  part  in  the  most  trying  times  in  the  mother 
country ;  and  after  this  discipline,  so  calculated  to  give 
firmness  and  character,  he  returned  to  labor  in  the  service 
of  this  infant  state.  (7)  Nothing  can  be  conceived  more 
likely  to  prepare  a  man  to  act  well  his  part  in  so  peculiar  a 
scene.  He  soon  became  eminent.  Talents,  learning,  and 
virtue  are  always  commanding.  In  that  age,  a  religious 
spirit  was  indispensable  to  honor  and  power.  Mather  had 
all.  He  was  conspicuous  for  rigid  piety  where  all  were 
rigid,  and  eminent  for  talents  and  knowledge  where  many 
had  been  eminent  before  him.     It  therefore  is  not  strange 


THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH.  159 

that  he  acquired  a  control  to  which  few  are  equa  ,  and  re- 
ceived and  held  honors  which  would  not  now  be  bestowed 
upon  ministers. 

We  find  proofs  of  his  ascendency  in  several  remarkable 
transactions.  When  King  Charles  II.,  in  1C83,  demanded 
from  the  colonies  an  un(iualified  resignation  of  their  char- 
ters, it  was  principally  by  the  authority  and  influence  of 
Increase  Mather  that  the  people  refused  to  make  the  sur- 
render. He  not  only  wrote  upon  the  subject,  but  went  to 
them  in  public  meeting,  and  exhorted  them  not  with  open 
eyes  to  rush  upon  their  ruin,  but  to  do  their  duty,  and  trust 
the  event  to  God.*  The  e.vample  of  Boston  decided  the 
question  throughout  the  country ;  and  this  is  one  of  the 
early  instances  in  which  the  lead  was  taken  by  this  town  in 
those  spirited  measures  of  opposition  to  arbitrary  oppression, 
for  which  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans  have  been  always 
distinguished.  The  charter,  however,  was  forfeited ;  and  a 
governor  was  sent  overt  with  unlimited  authority  to  make 
and  administer  what  laws  he  might  please.  This  authority 
he  exercised  in  a  most  oppressive  manner;  which  at  length 
so  e.xcited  the  indignation  of  the  people,  that  it  was  resolved 
to  send  an  agent  to  England  to  represent  their  grievances  to 
the  king.  (8)  No  one  was  found  so  fitted  to  this  important 
labor  as  Dr.  Mather,  who  accordingly  sailed  for  England  in 
April,  1GS8.  During  that  year,  the  English  revolution  took 
place,  and  it  was  not  until  four  years  after  that  he  accom- 
plished his  cofnmission  and  returned  home.  Upon  his  arri- 
val f  with  a  new  governor   and  another  charter,  the  General 

*  "  The  clergy,"  says  Hutchinson,  "  turned  the  scale  for  the  last 
time.  The  balance  which  they  had  held  from  tlie  beginning,  they 
were  allowed  to  retain  no  longer." 

t  By  James,  in  ]6d6. 

t  May  14,  169y. 


160  THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH. 

Court  appointed  a  day  of  solemn  thanksgiving,  with  honora- 
ble mention  of  his  exertions  in  behalf  of  the  state.  But  the 
satisfaction  which  it  yielded  him  was  not  unmixed.  Many 
were  dissatisfied  with  the  result  of  his  negotiations,*  and 
parties  were  formed.  Some  of  his  old  friends  forsook  him, 
and  he  found,  like  others  before  him,  that  the  troubles  and 
anxieties  of  political  eminence  are  very  insufficiently  com- 
pensated by  its  honors. 

But  his  peculiar  distinctions  and  happiness  were  in  the 
church.  He  was  eminently  fitted  for  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry, and  held  high  rank  as  a  writer  and  a  preacher.  His 
manner  is  represented  to  have  been  grave,  dignified,  and 
impressive.  He  never  carried  his  notes  into  the  pulpit, 
generally  committing  his  sermons  to  memory,  and  often- 
times preaching  extempore,  —  especially  during  the  years  in 
which  he  was  president  of  the  college,  when  he  had  little 
leisure  for  writing ;  for  so  devoted  to  him  were  his  flock, 
that  they  would  consent  to  his  holding  that  office  only  on 
the  condition  that  he  continued  their  minister  :  and  when  it 
was  made  necessary  for  the  president  to  reside  in  Cam- 
bridge, he  resigned  the  office  for  his  people's  sake.  (9)  His 
sermons  are  written  in  a  manly  and  forcible  style,  less 
marked  than  might  be  expected  by  the  peculiar  faults  of  the 
age,  and  contain  passages  of  the  most  powerful  elocjuence. 
His  favorite  topics  ap})ear  to  have  been  those  of  practical 
religion,  which  he  inculcated  in  all  the  severe  strictness  and 
occasional  superstition  of  that  age,  and  with  great  energy 

*  His  task  was,  undouhlcdly,  a  very  ditlicult  ono,  and  he  was 
liinisclf  far  from  being  altogether  satisfied  with  the  terms  he  wris 
able  to  obtain.  This  he  acknowledges  in  the  ])ainphlet  wiiich  he 
published  on  the  subject,  but  complains  of  the  unreasonableness 
of  those  who  accused  him  of  having  done  nothing,  because  he  had 
not  accomplished  all  that  was  desirable. 


THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH.  161 

and  warmth.  Few  sermons  present  a  stronger  image  of  the 
entire  sincerity  of  the  writer,  and  the  anxious  workings  of 
his  own  feelings.  They  are  remarkable  for  their  copious 
historical  illustrations,*  which  appear  to  have  presented 
themselves  spontaneously  to  his  mind  ;  and  not  less  so  for 
their  frequent  lamentations  over  the  degeneracy  and  depart- 
ing glory  of  New  England.  He  bewailed,  in  most  pathetic 
strains,  the  rapid  decline,  which  he  witnessed,  from  the 
strictness  of  the  first  settlers,  and  was  often  sounding  the 
alarm  of  an  exemplary  vengeance  to  overtake  that  evil  and 
perverse  generation.  "  The  interest  of  New  England,"  he 
says,  "  is  changed  from  a  religious  to  a  worldly  interest." 
"  Such  sins  as  formerly  were  not  known  in  New  England 
have  now  become  common,  such  as  swearing,  sinful  gaming, 
&/C. ;  yea,  the  present  generation,  as  to  the  body  of  it,  is  an 
unconverted  generation."  He  elsewhere  adds  to  this  cata- 
logue of  sins  drunkenness,  tavern-hunting,  even  on  Satur- 
day evening,  and  neglect  of  the  Sabbath,  the  ordinances, 
and  family  worship.  He  cries  out  also  against  the  lax  dis- 
cipline of  the  church,  and  the  common  substitution  of  a 
merely  historical  belief,  for  the  rigid  saving  faith  which  was 
once  regarded  as  essential.  (10)  These  complaints  sound 
strangely  in  our  ears,  who  have  been  taught  to  believe  that 
the  manners  of  that  age  were  universally  pure,  and  to  regard 
them  with  veneration,  as  presenting  a  model  for  imitation. 
But  such  complaints  are  made  in  every  age.  There  are 
always  those  that  imagine  the  world  is  going  backward,  be- 
cause it  is  not  guided  by  their  own  rule,  and  does  not  re- 
semble the  picture  their  fancy  has  drawn  of  times  that  are 
past.     And  we  should  be  comforted  amidst  the  lamentations 


This  is  true  as  a  general   remark,  though   particularly  so  of  his 
occasional  sornions. 

14* 


162  THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH, 

of  present  degeneracy,  that  they  were  equally  loud  a  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years  ago,  and  on  account,  too,  of  the  same 
sins  which  are  said  to  be  our  peculiar  curse.  No  doubt 
changes  were  perpetually  occurring ;  and  those  who  had 
known  the  country  when  it  consisted,  as  we  may  say,  of  but 
one  little  family,  would  readily  imagine  every  departure 
from  the  simplicity  and  strictness  of  family  discipline  and 
order  to  be  evil ;  and  yet  it  might  be  not  only  unavoidable, 
but  upon  the  whole  advantageous.  The  anxiety  of  Mather 
upon  this  head  is  a  most  honorable  proof  of  his  devotion  to 
the  welfare  of  religion  and  of  his  country  ;  it  was  the  spirit 
of  genuine  piety  and  patriotism.  But  it  evinced,  also,  how 
much  he  was  governed  by  the  impressions  of  education,  and 
the  circumstances  of  the  times  in  which  he  lived. 

And  these  had  made  such  impression  on  his  mind,  that  he 
looked  as  fearfully  on  the  growing  charity  as  on  the  grow- 
ing vices  of  the  age.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
bigoted  or  uncandid  in  his  own  private  feelings.  While  in 
London,  he  tells  us,  "  he  did  his  utmost  to  promote  a  union 
between  the  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  churches ; " 
and  in  a  neighboring  town  he  assisted  to  ordain  a  minister  of 
the  Baptist  denomination,  and  spoke  with  satisfaction  of  the 
part  he  had  taken  in  it.  And  yet  he  could  declaim  loudly 
against  toleration,  and  pronounce  it  to  be  fraught  with  the 
deadliest  evils.  "Toleration,"  he  says,  "of  all  religions 
and  persuasions,  is  the  way  to  have  no  religion  at  all  left." 
"I  do  believe  that  Antichrist  hath  not  in  this  day  a  more 
probable  way  to  advance  the  kingdom  of  darkness."  *  (H) 

This  alarm,  in  regard  to  the  state  and  prospects  of  the 
country,  was  mingled  with  that  superstition  of  the  age, 
which  likened  the  Commonwealth  to  the  commonwealth  of 

*  Election  sermon. 


THE  OLD  NORTH  CHTRCH.  163 

Israel,  and  which  accordingly  expected  perpetual  interposi- 
tions of  Providence  in  favor  or  judgment.  Every  calamity 
—  storm,  fire,  and  sickness  —  he  represented  as  special  vis- 
itations of  God  for  the  sins  of  the  people,  and  endeavored, 
with  all  the  energy  of  his  eloquence,  to  rouse  them  to  a 
sense  of  their  sins,  that  they  might  by  repentance  avert  the 
wrath.*  On  the  appearance  of  the  comets  in  1C80  and 
1682,  which  he  verily  believed  to  be  the  forerunners  of 
calamity,  and  published  a  considerable  treatise  in  sup- 
port of  the  opinion,  (12)  he  came  forward  with  loud  ex- 
hortations to  repentance  and  reformation,  denouncing  the 
irritated  anger  of  Heaven,  and  confidently  predicting  a  heavy 
day  of  vengeance  and  darkness. 

It  is  not  at  all  strange,  when  we  consider  the  character 
of  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  that  his  ardent  and  devout 
mind,  which  had  been  trained  to  "  see  God  in  every  thing 
and  every  thing  in  God,"  should  be  thus  aflfected  with  super- 
stitious notions  of  the  government  of  the  world  and  the  ap- 
pearances of  the  heavens.  The  strongest  and  best  minds 
are  as  liable  as  others  to  submit  to  the  prevalent  opinions 
of  the  age,  and  their  doing  so  is  no  proof  of  deficiency  in 
talents  or  in  judgment.  The  character  of  this  eminent  man 
stands  upon  other  grounds ;  and  while  it  can  be  sustained 
upon  them,  it  is  but  a  small  thing  that  in  some  points  it 
partakes  of  the  infirmities  of  the  world  in  which  he  moved. 

Such  was  the  man  by  the  light  of  whose  instruction  and 
example  our  church  was  blessed  for  more  than  sixty-two 
years,  and  who  for  sixty-six  years  was  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel.     He  died  August  23,  1723,  in  the  eighty-fifth  year 

His  sermons  on  such  occasions  were  principally  preached  at  the 
Thursday  lecture,  and  appear  to  have  made  an  impression,  as  I  find 
some  of  them  passed  through  two  editions,  and  some  through  a 
third. 


164  THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH, 

of  his  age  —  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
men  of  the  day;  "one  who  was  indeed  a  great  man  while 
yet  but  a  young  man,  and  a  notable  preacher  of  Christ 
in  some  of  the  greatest  churches  of  England  and  Ire- 
land, before  he  had  been  twenty  years  in  the  world.  A 
great  man,  and  one  adorned  with  great  endowments  of 
knowledge,  and  learning,  and  prudence,  which  qualified  him 
for  stations  and  actions,  and  even  an  agency  for  his  country, 
wherein  the  most  eminent  persons  in  the  nation,  and  three 
crowned  heads,  took  a  kind  notice  of  him."  Indeed, 
whether  you  consider  the  extraordinary  honors  that  attended 
him  while  living,  or  the  general  sentiment  which  has  fol- 
lowed his  memory,  or  consult  the  writings  which  he  has 
left  behind  him,  you  will  pronounce  him  a  man  richly  en- 
dowed by  nature,  richly  furnished  by  education,  and  de- 
servedly numbered  with  the  most  pious,  learned,  and  useful 
men  of  New  England.  The  day  of  his  death  was  a  day  of 
general  mourning.  An  honorable  funeral  was  given  him, 
such  as  few  citizens  had  been  known  to  receive  before,  and 
every  testimony  of  affection  and  veneration  accompanied 
him  to  the  tomb.  The  feelings  of  that  day  have  passed 
away  ;  the  eyes  that  knew  him  and  wept  for  him  have  long 
been  sealed  in  death ;  and  other  generations  have  risen,  and 
gone  by,  and  been  forgotten.  But  the  name  of  Increase 
Mather  still  lives ;  and  when  hundreds  of  generations  shall 
have  sunk  to  irrecoverable  oblivion,  he  shall  still  be  hailed 
as  one  of  the  early  worthies  of  New  England. 

The  most  important  event  relating  to  these  churches, 
which  occurred  in  the  latter  part  of  his  ministry,  was  the 
division  of  his  church,  and  the  establishment  of  two  nevir 
congregations.  With  the  increase  of  the  town,  the  Old 
North  had  become  excessively  crowded,  and  inconvenient 
for    the    worshipers.     A  secession  accordingly  took  place, 


THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCU.  165 

and  the  New  North  was  built  in  1714.  In  1721,  a  difficulty 
arose  among  that  people  about  the  settlement  of  a  minister, 
which  issued  in  a  separation  and  the  building  of  the  New 
Brick.  In  this  difficulty  the  pastors  of  the  Old  North  took 
an  almost  paternal  interest,  and  the  ordination  of  the  first 
minister  of  the  New  Brick  was  the  last  which  Increase 
Mather  attended.  Of  these  events  I  shall  speak  further  in 
another  place. 

Cotton  Mather,  who  had  been  colleague  with  his  father 
for  thirty-nine  years,  survived  him  but  four  years  and  a 
half  He  died,  after  an  illness  of  five  weeks,  February  13, 
1728,  the  day  after  he  had  completed  his  si.xty-fifth  year, 
having  been  minister  forty-four  years.  He  was  a  man  of 
equal  fame  with  his  father ;  and  although  I  have  already 
detained  you  so  long,  it  is  impossible  to  proceed  without 
dwelling  at  some  length  on  the  character  of  the  son. 

His  original  powers  of  mind  were  doubtless  equal  to 
those  of  his  father,  and  his  industry  and  learning  far  supe- 
rior ;  but  he  was  deficient  in  judgment  and  good  taste,  and 
therefore,  with  all  his  attainments,  became  rather  an  ex- 
traordinary than  a  great  man.  His  character  was  a  very 
mi.\ed  one.  You  would  regard  him  with  wonder  and  admi- 
ration, but  hardly  with  a  feeling  of  entire  confidence.  His 
religious  sense  was  as  strong  as  his  father's,  but  it  was  min- 
gled with  more  superstition,  and  was  perpetually  bordering 
on  fanaticism,  and  running  into  the  unprofitable  obser- 
vances of  the  ascetics.  The  desire  of  being  useful  was 
clearly  one  of  his  powerful  ruling  principles,  and  few  men 
have  formed  so  extensive  systematic  designs  of  active  use- 
fulness ;  yet  he  injured  this  by  talking  too  much  about  it, 
and  by  a  little  too  much  parade  in  it.  It  is  not  easy  to  ar- 
rive at  satisfactory  views  of  his  character.  There  was  a 
mixture  in  it  of  so  many  qualities  apparently  inconsistent, 


166  THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH. 

some  exciting  your  veneration  and  some  your  pity,  that  it  is 
difficult  to  arrange  them  in  one  view,  so  as  to  form  a  con- 
nected whole.  While  you  look  with  astonishment  at  hia 
labors,  and  acknowledge  his  praiseworthy  zeal,  you  are  mor- 
tified and  vexed  to  find  the  most  excellent  designs  frustrated, 
and  the  most  indefatigable  exertions  wasted,  through  the 
mere  want  of  a  discriminating  judgment.  It  makes  you  mel- 
ancholy to  observe,  that,  after  a  life  of  almost  incredible  in- 
dustry ;  after  publishing  three  hundred  and  eighty-two  books, 
large  and  small,  and  leaving  others  of  vast  labor  behind 
him ;  *  after  years  spent  in  unwearying  efforts  to  do  good,  to 
extend  knowledge,  and  promote  religion,  which,  if  well 
judged,  might  have  placed  him  in  the  foremost  rank  of  great 
men  ;  —  his  name  and  works  are  viewed  by  posterity  rather  as 
phenomena  to  be  talked  about,  than  as  substantial  blessings. 
His  principal  work,  the  Magnalia,  has  been  much  sought 
after  as  a  curiosity ;  and  that  it  has  been  so  regarded  is 
proof  sufficient  that  its  merit  is  quite  equivocal.  As  a 
storehouse  of  documents  and  facts  relating  to  the  early 
history  of  the  country,  it  may  be  consulted  with  advan- 
tage ;  t  but  it  is  so  strangely  written  as  to  become  heavy  in 
the  reader's  hands,  and  so  mingled  with  the  credulity  and 
puerility  of  the  author's  own  mind,  that  even  Neal,  a  contem- 
porary writer    and  correspondent,  hardly  ventured  to    cite 

*  The  principal  of  these  is  his  favorite  work,  about  wliich  he  was 
occupied  for  many  years,  Bihiia  Jimcricatia,  a  learned  illustration 
of  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  It  was  proposed, 
after  his  death,  to  publish  it  in  three  volumes  folio;  but  the  design 
was  dropped  for  want  of  sufficient  encouragement.  It  is  now  in  the 
library  of  tlie  Historical  Society. 

t  *'  He  knew  more  of  the  history  of  this  country,"  says  Dr. 
Chauncy,  "from  the  beginning  to  this  day,  than  any  man  in  it, 
and  could  he  have  conveyed  his  knowledge  with  proportionable 
judgment,  and  the  omission  of  a  vain  show  of  much  learning,  he 
would  have  given  the  best  history  of  it." 


THE    OLD    NORTH   ClIURCir.  167 

liim  as  an  authority.  Indeed,  he  was  credulous  to  a  deplor- 
able degree  of  weakness,  giving  easy  credit  to  all  tales  of 
supernatural  appearances,  providential  interposition,  and 
diabolical  agency,  relating  them  as  matters  of  sober  his- 
tory, and  by  his  authority  and  influence  feeding  the  flame 
of  superstition  and  persecution  in  which  so  many  unhappy 
wretches  perished  on  the  accusation  of  witchcraft  in  1G92. 
That  he  not  only  fell  in  with  this  popular  delusion,  but 
rather  fostered  and  excited  it,*  I  am  afraid  is  too  plain  to  be 
doubted.  He  set  his  seal  to  all  that  was  believed  and  done, 
to  the  shame  of  himself  and  his  country,  by  publishing  on 
the  subject  what  aided  the  fury  of  the  times,  and  will  wit- 
ness against  him  to  the  latest  generation. 

*  I  confess  I  have  not  been  able  to  see  so  clearly  into  this  matter 
as  I  could  desire.  The  whole  history  of  that  delusion,  it  appears  to 
me,  lies  very  much  in  the  dark.  In  regard  to  the  agency  of"  Cotton 
Mather,  I  presume  it  will  not  be  questioned,  though  it  may  not  be 
easy  to  decide  precisely  what  was  its  nature  or  extent.  Ncal  makes 
it  evident  that  he  favored  the  delusion  ;  and  Watts,  in  a  letter  to 
Mather,  tells  him,  "  Mr.  Neal  hopes  you  will  forgive  him  that  he 
has  not  fallen  into  your  sentiments  exactly."  —  Hist,  of  J\'.  E.  vol.  i. 
Hist.  Coll.  vol.  v.  —  But  there  is  no  necessity  of  going  so  far  for  tes- 
timony, while  we  have  his  "  Wonders  of  the  Invisible  World,"  — 
the  work  to  which  I  have  alluded  above.  Mr.  Brattle,  of  Cam- 
bridge, in  a  letter  published  in  the  Historical  Collections,  says  that 
Increase  Mather  "did  utterly  condemn  "  the  proceedings  of  this  pe- 
riod ;  and  that  "  the  reverend  elders  throughout  the  country,  e.xcept 
three,  are  very  much  dissatisfied."  Cotton  Mather  is  not  named  as 
one  of  the  three,  and  therefore,  probably,  when  this  letter  was  writ- 
ten, had  clianged  his  opinion.  For  he  did  finally  acknowledge,  in 
writing,  that  things  had  been  urged  too  far.  Yet,  in  the  life  of  his 
father,  written  tliirty-two  years  after  the  delusion  was  at  its  height, 
he  expressed  his  firm  belief  that  all  was  to  be  attributed  to  super- 
natural agency.  I  wish  it  were  clear  that  he  did  not  do  more  than 
any  one  in  urging  this  belief  to  its  fatal  consequences. 


168  THE    OLD    NORTH    CHURCH. 

As  a  preacher,  he  difiercd  much  from  his  father ;  having 
less  strength,  and  more  rhapsody,  less  dignity,  and  more 
declamation.  The  quaintness  and  singularity  of  his  style 
was  not  well  suited  to  the  gravity  of  the  pulpit,  and  appears 
to  have  been  a  subject  of  complaint  even  during  his  life- 
time.* And  yet  there  was  so  much  warmth  and  zeal,  so 
much  earnestness  and  sincerity,  so  evident  and  pious  long- 
ing to  do  good,  "  his  spirits  were  so  raised  and  all  on  fire,"  — 
to  use  the  expression  of  one  who  knew  him  well,t  —  that  his 
faults  seem  to  havesdisappeared  in  his  excellences,  and  his 
preaching  was  impressive  and  effective.  He  seems  to  have 
been  fond  of  dwelling  on  doctrinal  subjects.  "  He  was  a 
vigorous  defender,"  says  his  colleague,  "  of  the  reformed 
doctrines  of  grace,  and  of  the  mysteries  of  revealed  reli- 
gion, which  he  ever  regarded  as  the  excelling  glory  of  the 
Christian  dispensation."  In  other  words,  he  was  a  zealous 
Calvinist,  and  it  is  certain  that  he  was  quite  thorough  in  its 
creed.  He  did  not  forbear  to  state  its  tenets  in  their  most 
contradictory  and  revolting  form,  —  as  if  he  gloried  in 
being  able  to  set  them  before  him  in  full  array,  and  thought 
to  magnify  the  merit  of  that  faith,  which  could  receive  them 
notwithstanding  their  intrinsic  difficulties.! 

He  was  as  zealous  in  his  adherence  to  the  Congregational 

•  Neal  complains,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Colman,  of  "the  puns  and 
jingles  that  attend  all  his  writings  ;  "  and  Mr.  Prince,  in  his  funeral 
sermon,  says,  that  "  in  his  style  he  was  somewhat  singular,  and  not 
so  agreeable  to  tiie  gust  of  tlie  age." 

t   Funeral  sermon,  by  Mr.  Prince. 

X  This  remark  will  be  found  principally  exemplified  in  a  sermon 
on  election  and  reprobation,  and  his  "  Address  "  on  Quakerism, 
entitled  Little  Flocks  sruurdcd  against  grievous  Wolves;  also,  in  the 
complaints  which  he  makes  in  the  Magnalia  of  Ba.xter's  departing, 
in  some  respects,  from  the  strictness  of  the  Calvinistic  faith. 


THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH.  169 

mode  of  church  discipline,  as  to  tho  articles  of  his  creed. 
This  was  a  matter  of  great  interest  at  the  early  periods  of 
our  history,  when  all  remembered  it  freshly  as  the  cause  in 
which  their  fathers  were  driven  from  their  homes,  and  were 
exccedinor  jealous  of  any  attempt  to  innovate  in  matters  of 
discipline,  or  to  introduce,  under  any  pretence,  the  burdens 
of  the  Episcopal  church.  "  No  church  upon  earth,"  he 
says,  "  so  notably  makes  the  terms  of  communion  run 
parallel  with  the  terms  of  salvation."  *  It  was  through  this 
watchful  and  suspicious  fear  of  innovation  that  the  church 
was  induced,  in  1697,  to  send  a  letter  of  admonition  to  the 
church  in  Charlcstowii,  "  for  betraying  the  liberties  of  the 
churches  by  putting  into  the  hands  of  the  whole  inhabitants 
the  choice  of  a  minister."  (l.'J) 

The  sentiments  which  he  expressed  concerning  toleration 
were  much  more  just  and  rational  than  those  which  I  have 
quoted  from  his  father,  and  mark  the  growing  liberality 
of  the  age.  "  Persecution,"  he  says,  "  for  conscientious  dis- 
sents in  religion  is  the  abomination  of  desolation  ;  a  thing 
whereof  all  wise  and  just  men  will  say, '  Cursed  be  its  anger, 
for  it  is  tierce,  and  its  wrath,  for  it  is  cruel.'  "  t  He  says 
elsewhere  that  he  "  abhors  it ;  has  preached  against  it,  and 
writ  against  it ;  he  would  have  the  Quakers  treated  with  all 
imaginable  civility,  and  not  have  the  civil  magistrate  inflict 
the  damage  of  a  farthing  for  their  consciences."  With  an 
inconsistency,  however,  perhaps  not  very  rare,  he  refrained 
from  all  "  civility"  in  his  own  treatment  of  them,  and  took 
every  occasion  to  abuse  them  and  make  them  odious.|  He 
is  not,  however,  the  only  man  who  has  imagined  nothing 

*  LollLT  to  Lord  Barrinjrton. 

!   Riglit  Hand  of  Fellowship,  at  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Prince,  1718. 
t  Sec  divers  passages  in  the  Magnalia,  and  liis  Address,  or  Qua- 
kerism Displayed,  wliich  abounds  with  soinctliing  like  scurrility. 

15 


170  THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH. 

short  of  imprisonment  and  the  stake  to  be  persecution. 
There  are  many,  who,  with  the  utmost  virulence,  have  gone 
on  destroying  reputation  and  influence,  while  they  were 
sedately  talking  of  toleration  and  the  rights  of  conscience, 
—  as  if  they  thought,  with  some  theorists  on  government, 
that  life,  liberty,  and  property  are  the  only  good  of  man,  and 
that  influence  and  a  good  name,  which  make  life,  liberty,  and 
property  worth  having,  may  be  wantonly  taken  away  with- 
out injustice. 

In  the  contrast  which  I  have  mentioned,  between  what  is 
to  be  admired  and  what  is  to  be  deplored,  it  would  not  be 
strange  if  we  erred  in  our  estimate  of  his  character.  His 
foibles  thrust  themselves  upon  our  notice,  and  will  not  be 
hidden,  —  while  to  learn  what  should  redeem  them,  we  must 
be  acquainted  with  all  the  history  and  habits  of  the  man. 
That  there  was  something  in  these  to  redeem  them,  is  clear 
from  the  great  influence  he  sustained  both  in  church  and 
state,  notwithstanding  his  palpable  imperfections.  He  was 
more  than  once  instrumental  of  great  good  to  the  state  by 
this  influence  in  times  of  excitement  and  confusion  ;  and  in 
the  church  he  was  certainly  an  object  of  great  respect ;  and 
in  spite  of  his  assuming,  to  say  the  least,  all  the  consequence 
that  belonged  to  him,  yet  he  was  able  to  retain  that  conse- 
quence. Still  it  is  clear,  on  the  other  hand,  that  it  was 
then  felt  that  something  was  wanting  to  complete  the  man; 
for  in  two  vacancies  *  in  the  presidency  of  the  college,  when 
his  unquestioned  learning,  and  talents,  and  age  gave  him  a 
clear  claim  to  the  office,  and  the  people,  who  regarded  him 
as  a  prodigy,  called  aloud  for  his  election,  yet  the  place  was 

*  In  170G,  when  President  Leverett  was  chosen,  and  in  17*26, 
when  Dr.  Colman,  Dr.  Sewall,  and  Mr.  Wadsworth  were  Rucces- 
Bively  elected. 


THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCU.  171 

denied  him,  and  given  to  men  his  inferiors -in  every  respect, 
except  judgment.  This  failing  was  palpable,  and  univer- 
sally admitted,  and  this  prevented  him  from  being  one  of  the 
greatest  of  men. 

From  his  very  childhood  he  had  been  distinguished  by 
his  attachment  to  religion  and  to  books.  He  was  graduated 
at  the  age  of  sixteen,  the  next  year  joined  his  father's  church, 
and  began  to  preach  when  eighteen,  having,  by  great  pains, 
cured  himself  of  a  stammering  in  his  speech,  which  once 
threatened  to  forbid  him  the  profession.  Ilis  ministerial 
gifts  were  at  once  appreciated,  and  having  been  for  some 
time  assistant  to  his  father,  he  was  ordained  as  his  colleague 
May  V.i,  1C85.  (14)  In  this  situation,  the  arduous  duties 
of  which  he  was  far  from  slighting  or  neglecting,  he  was 
able  to  read  and  write  more  than  any  man  probably  ever  did 
in  America.  "  There  were  scarcely  any  books  written," 
says  Dr.  Chauncy,  "  but  he  had  some  how  or  other  got  a 
sight  of  them.  lie  was  the  greatest  redeemer  of  time  I  ever 
knew."  This  was  the  opinion  expressed  by  all  who  knew 
him,  and  it  gained  for  him  many  honors,  and  an  extensive 
correspondence  among  distinguished  men  abroad. 

In  the  duties  of  the  ministerial  office  he  appears  to  have 
been  eminently  faithful  and  successful.  He  was  much  in 
the  habit  of  private  admonition  and  instruction,  endeavorinoTj 
in  his  own  peculiar  way,  to  start  some  advice  or  reproof  from 
every  occurrence,  and  perpetually  inventing  new  devices 
for  doing  good.  "  To  do  all  the  good  he  could  to  all,"  says 
one  *  who  knew  him  intimately,  "  was  his  maxim,  his  study, 
his  labor,  his  pleasure."  —  He  was  full  of  private  labors  to 
this  end,  and  he  favored  and  assisted  many  public  insti- 
tutions for  this  object.     It  was  he  that,  in  spite  of  obloquy, 

*  Mr.  Prince. 


172  THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH. 

insults,  and  threats,  introduced  the  practice  of  inoculation 
for  the  sniall-pox  as  a  bar  to  the  fatal  ravages  of  that  dis- 
ease ;  and,  with  the  same  ardor  and  disinterestedness,  gave 
his  time  to  other  purposes  of  public  good,  civil,  as  well  as 
moral  and  religious.  A  book,  which  he  wrote  upon  this 
subject  of  doing  good,*  is  perhaps  his  most  valuable  work. 
Dr.  Franklin  attributed  to  it  all  his  usefulness  and  eminence 
in  life ;  and  I  think  no  one  could  read  it  without  receiving 
enlarged  notions  of  his  capacity  and  obligation  to  do  good, 
and  being  stimulated  to  better  attempts.  With  these  active 
works  of  religion,  he  united  an  austerity  of  private  disci- 
pline, that  would  have  honored  a  monastery.  He  kept 
frequent  days  of  fasting,  and  nights  of  watching,  sometimes 
for  two  and  even  three  days  together — regularly  once  a 
month,  and  occasionally  once  a  week. 

But  it  is  impossible  to  proceed  in  particulars.  I  have 
(Tone  far  enough  to  show  what  I  intended,  that,  notwith- 
standing his  great  defects,  which  strike  you  at  first  view, 
and  cannot  be  concealed,  he  absolutely  was,  as  he  was 
always  acknowledged  to  be,  a  most  wonderful  man.  It  is 
barely  doing  him  justice  to  say,  in  the  language  of  his  col- 
league, t  that  "the  capacity  of  his  mind,  the  readiness  of 
his  wit,  the  vastness  of  his  reading,  the  strength  of  his 
memory,  the  variety  and  treasures  of  his  learning,  in  printed 
works  and  in  manuscripts,  which  contained  a  much  greater 
share ;  the  splendor  of  virtue,  which,  through  the  abundant 
grace  of  God,  shone  out  in  the  constant  tenor  of  a  most 
entertaining  and  profitable  conversation ;  his  uncommon 
activity,  his  unwearied  application,  his  extensive  zeal,  and 

*  "  Essays  to  do  Good."  It  has  been  republished  within  a  few 
years,  at  Boston. 

f   Mr.  Gee's  sermon  on  liis  death. 


THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH.  173 

numberless  projects  of  doing  good ;  these  things,  as  they 
were  united  in  him,  proclaimed  him  to  be  truly  an  extraor- 
dinary person."  When  he  died,  it  was  felt  as  a  public 
loss,  and  he  was  honored  with  a  funeral  of  uncommon 
splendor.  He  was  mourned,  according  to  Dr.  Colman's 
e.xpression,  "  as  the  first  minister  in  the  town  —  the  first  in 
age,  in  gifts,  and  in  grace  —  the  first  in  all  the  provinces 
of  New  England  for  universal  literature  and  extensive 
services."  (1-5) 

Cotton  Mather  was  alone  in  the  care  of  the  church  only 
four  months  during  his  whole  ministry,  Joshua  Gee  being 
ordained  colleague  with  him  soon  after  the  death  of  his 
father.  Mr.  Gee  is  represented  on  all  hands  as  having  been 
a  very  superior  man  —  not  possessing  popular  talents,  but 
of  great  profoundness  and  learning,  excelling  in  argument, 
and  capable  of  rising  to  any  height  of  excellence;  but,  un- 
happily, of  an  indolent  habit,  which  prevented  his  making 
that  use  of  his  advantages  which  would  have  secured  to  him 
the  ascendency  for  which  he  seems  to  have  been  formed. 
His  character  was  particularly  n)arked  with  zeal  and  fervor. 
He  was  .somewiiat  bigoted  to  high  Calvinism,  and  somewhat 
bitter  in  controversy.  He  was  an  earnest  promoter  of  the 
religious  excitement  which  prevailed  throughout  the  coun- 
try after  Whiteficld's  first  visit,  and  refused  to  open  his  eyes 
to  the  evils  which  attended  it,  even  after  many  of  its  friends 
had  become  convinced  of  their  existence.  And  when  the 
convention,  in  1743,  felt  it  a  duty  to  bear  testimony  against 
certain  errors  in  doctrine  and  practice,  which  prevailed  to 
tlie  great  confusion  of  the  churches,  he  warmly,  and 
rather  passionately,  opposed  them,  and  was  the  occasion  of 
a  separate  convention  in  the  following  July,  which  issued  a 
counter  testimony.  (1())  Witli  all  his  great  qu;dities,  he 
was,  as  this  transaction  proves,  rash  and  over-ardent;  so 
15* 


174  THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH, 

that  Dr.  Chauncy,  who  knew  him  well,  said,  "  it  was  happy 
Mr,  Gee  had  an  indolent  turn  ;  for  with  such  fiery  zeal,  and 
such  talents,  he  would  have  made  continual  confusion  in 
the  churches." 

His  ministry  in  this  church  continued  for  twenty-five 
years.  He  had  been  an  invalid  for  many  years,  and  died, 
after  a  lingering  illness,  May  22,  1748,  in  the  fifty-first  year 
of  his  age.  (17) 

He  enjoyed  the  society  of  his  venerable  colleague  but 
four  years.  When,  at  his  death,  the  people  looked  round  for 
one  to  succeed  him,  their  choice  fell  upon  his  son,  Samuel 
Mather,  who  was  ordained  over  them  June  21,  1732,  about 
four  years  after  his  father's  death,  (18)  He  was  recom- 
mended to  them,  not  only  by  their  respect  for  the  ancient 
family,  but  by  his  own  character  for  diligence,  zeal,  and 
learning,  of  which  he  certainly  possessed  an  uncommon 
share.  He  had  already  made  himself  known  by  several 
publications,  especially  by  his  life  of  his  father.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  ministry  but  nine  years,  when,  on  account  of 
some  dissatisfaction  with  his  preaching,  which  was  thought 
by  some  to  be  not  sufficiently  explicit  upon  certain  points 
of  doctrine,  together  with  some  other  grounds  of  uneasiness, 
a  division  took  place  in  the  church,  and  he  with  one  party 
withdrew,  and  erected  a  separate  place  of  worship.  This 
was  in  1740  and  '41,  and  possibly  had  some  connection  with 
the  religious  excitements  of  that  period,  about  which  his 
colleague,  Mr.  Gee,  was  so  zealous.  He  continued  to  be 
the  minister  of  a  separate  congregation  until  his  death,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  .seventy-nine  years.*  By  his  own  direc- 
tions he  received  a  private  funeral.  Most  of  those  who 
at  that  time  were  worshiping  witii  him,  returned  to  this 
church  ;  and  some  are  with  us  still. 

"  June  27,  1785. 


THE  OLD  NORTH  CHURCH.  175 

After  the  removal  of  Mr.  Mather,  Gee  remained  sole  pas- 
tor, until,  in  his  declining  health,  Samuel  Checkley  was 
united  with  him  the  year  befurc  his  death.  (10)  He  was  the 
son  of  an  eminent  minister  of  the  New  South  church,  and 
is  said  to  have  been  distinguished  for  a  peculiar  sort  of  elo- 
quence, and  an  uncommon  felicity  in  the  devotional  ser- 
vice of  public  worship.  He  published  nothing,  except  one 
sermon  on  the  death  of  Mrs.  Lydia  Hutchinson,  and  left  the 
records  of  the  church  so  imperfect,  that  little  can  be  learned 
from  them  of  its  state  and  fortunes  during  his  connection 
with  it.  He  died,  after  a  ministry  of  twenty-one  years,  on 
the  lUth  of  March,  17(>8. 

He  was  succeeded  in  the  ministry  by  the  late  Dr. 
Lathrop,  (20)  whom  you  well  knew,  and  whom  all  that 
knew  honored.  During  his  ministry,  the  Old  North  meet- 
ing-house was  destroyed,  and  the  church  and  congregation, 
formed  a  union  with   those  worshiping  in   this  house. 

Having  thus  brought  down  the  account  of  the  ancient 
church  to  the  period  of  the  union,  I  leave  it  for  the  present, 
that  I  may  resume  it  in  the  afternoon,  when  I  shall  first  have 
followed  the  history  of  the  New  Brick  to  the  same  period. 


SERMON    XIII. 


THE  NEW  BRICK  CHURCH. 
HAGGAl  II.  3. 

WHO  IS  LEFT  AMONG  YOU   THAT  SAW   THIS  HOUSE   IN  HER  FIRST   GLORY  i 

1  Tins  morning  spoke  to  you  of  the  origin,  establishment, 
and  history  of  the  Old  North  church,  and  of  the  lives  and 
characters  of  its  ministers,  until  its  union  with  the  New 
Brick,  at  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war.  I  now  go  on 
to  a  similar  account  of  the  New  Brick  church.  It  originated 
in  circumstances  not  very  honorable  or  happy.  It  had  its 
birth,  not  from  the  regular  overflow  of  increasing  popula- 
tion ;  nor  was  it  a  separation  of  brethren  in  the  spirit  of 
Christian  love ;  but  it  was  the  offspring  of  heated  passions 
and  violent  dissension.  The  circumstances,  as  far  as  can 
be  positively  ascertained,  or  are  important  to  be  known,  ap- 
pear to  have  been  the  following  :  — 

The  New  North  church  was  established  in  1714.  It  was 
regularly  and  peaceably  gathered  in  the  necessary  course 
of  a  growing  population.  They  had  ordained  one  minister, 
the  Rev.  John  Webb,  and,  agreeably  to  the  custom  of  the 
times,  were  desirous  of  settling  another  in  connection  with 
him.  In  consetiucnce  of  some  irregularities  in  the  proceed- 
ings of  those    who  were  most  active  in  the   affair,  "  they 


7UE    NEW    BRICK    CHURCH.  177 

fell,"  as  their  records  express  it,  "into  unhappy  and  divided 
circumstances."  The  principal  ground  of  division  was  ia 
regard  to  inviting  a  minister  already  settled.  Many  desired 
to  call  to  this  place  Mr.  Peter  Thacher,  then  over  the 
church  in  Weymouth,  a  preacher  of  great  popularity.  Oth- 
ers esteemed  it  contrary  to  Congregational  usage  and  prin- 
ciples; and  in  this  dispute,  fermented  probably  by  private 
and  loc;U  circumstances,  of  which  we  have  little  account, 
their  passions  became  heated,  and  they  approached  at  last, 
in  a  state  of  e.xasperation  which  gave  little  promise  of 
niiaiiiinity,  to  the  choice  of  a  minister.  The  choice  fell 
Ml)oii  Mr.  Thacher,  which  was  ratified  in  the  congregation 
by  a  majority  of  one,  and  that,  it  is  said,  was  obtained  by 
the  casting  vote  of  the  minister.  A  great  storm  of  trouble 
ensued.  The  ministers  of  the  town,  who  unanimously 
agreed  in  disapproving  the  measures  of  the  majority,  inter- 
fered, and  advised  a  reference  of  their  difficulties  to  a  coun- 
cil. This  not  being  done,  they  gave  the  church  to  under- 
stand that  they  wished  not  to  be  invited  to  attend  at  the 
ordination.  The  ordaining  council  wms  composed  of  only 
two  ministers,  one  of  whom  came  with  the  consent  of  his 
church,  accompanied  by  delegates;  and  the  other  alone,  in 
opposition  to  the  vote  of  his  church.  The  most  violent 
attempts  were  made  to  prevent  their  proceeding,  and  it  was 
only  by  being  conducted  by  a  private  passage,  that  the 
council  obtained  possession  of  the  meeting-house.  Here  a 
scene  of  the  most  outrageous  and  disgraceful  tumult  oc- 
curred. It  is  difficult  to  give  credit  to  all  the  stories  of  the 
indecencies  which  were  acted  there  ;  it  is  certain,  however, 
that  after  one  more  ineffectual  attempt  at  a  mutual  council, 
the  ordination  proceeded  in  the  midst  of  a  disorder  little 
inferior  to  the  uproar  in  the  theatre  at  Ephesus.  The  dis- 
contented members  separated  themselves,  to  the  number  of 


178  THE    NEW    BRICK    CHURCH. 

forty,  and  in  the  course  of  the  next  year  erected  the  build- 
ing in  which  we  now  worship.  ( 1 ) 

This  house  was  dedicated  on  the  10th  of  May,  1721.  A 
day  of  prayer  and  fasting  was  kept  on  the  occasion,  and  two 
discourses  were  delivered,  one  by  Cotton  Mather,  many  of 
whose  congregation  were  engaged  in  the  new  design,  and 
the  other  by  Mr.  Wadsworth,  minister  of  the  first  church, 
and  afterward  president  of  Harvard  College.  The  house 
appears  to  have  been  regarded,  at  that  time  and  for  many 
years  after,  as  a  building  of  uncommon  elegance  and  taste. 
The  preacher  expressed  only  the  common  opinion,  when  he 
said,  "I  suppose  there  is  not  in  all  the  land  a  more  beautiful 
house  built  for  the  worship  of  God,  than  this  whereof  you 
now  appear  to  make  a  dedication  to  the  Lord.  But  what 
will  it  signify,"  he  added,  "  if  the  beauty  of  holiness  be 
wanting?"  A  church  was  gathered  amongst  the  worshipers. 
May  22,  of  the-  next  year,  consisting  of  ten  persons,  six  of 
whom  were  from  the  New  North,  and  three  of  them  had 
been  original  members  of  that  church.  (2)  One  of  the  dea- 
cons chosen  at  this  time,  Thomas  Lee,  lived  to  be  ninety 
years  old,  and  died  in  1769,  having  survived  all  the  original 
members  of  this  church  and  congregation. 

On  the  same  day,  William  Waldron  was  ordained  the 
first  pastor.  (3)  His  ministry  was  short,  being  only  of  five 
years'  continuance,  when  he  died  at  the  age  of  thirty.  The 
interests  of  the  church  appear  to  have  flourished  beneath 
his  care.  If  we  may  judge  by  the  representations  of  those 
who  knew  him,  he  was  a  man  of  uncommon  promise.  In 
the  many  sermons  which  were  published  on  occasion  of  his 
death,*  he  is  spoken  of,  not  in  the  language  of  common- 

*  I  liavc  in  my  possession  a  volume  containinir  sermons  on  the 
occasion,  by  C.  Mather,  Webb,  P'o.xcrofl,  (with  a  dedication  by 
Cooper,)  and  Wadsworth.     Samuel  Mather  also  publislied  a  sermon. 


THE   NEW   BRICK    CHURCH.  179 

place  eulogy,  but  in  the  genuine  accents  of  unaffected 
lamentation,  and  sincere  respect  and  love.  There  appears 
to  have  been  a  mixture  of  the  severity  and  simplicity  of  an 
apostle  with  affability  and  urbanity,  wiiich  secured  to  him 
respect  as  a  minister  and  warm  attachment  as  a  friend. 
Ministerial  courage  was  an  eminent  trait  of  his  character, 
and  this  was  united,  as  you  might  expect  to  find  it,  with 
great  activity  in  the  service  of  the  gospel.  His  death  ap- 
pears to  have  excited  a  very  unusual  sympathy,  not  solely,  it 
would  seem,  on  account  of  his  own  distinguished  worth, 
l)ut  as  "  he  was  the  youngest  minister  by  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  that  had  yet  died  in  Boston,"  and  because  there  had 
been,  for  several  preceding  years,  a  succession  of  deaths 
among  the  younger  ministers  almost  as  remarkable  as  that 
which  has  desolated  our  churches  for  the  last  twenty  years.* 
These  circumstances  doubtless  contributed,  together  with 
the  rapidity  of  his  disease,  to  produce  the  deep  and  general 
feeling  with  which  he  was  lamented. t 

*  "  We  have  seen,  within  tliese  few  3'ears,  many  other  sorrowful 
instances  of  early  death  among  those  of  the  ministerial  order,  and 
many  more  among  Christians  of  a  private  character.  I  could  reckon 
up  above  a  dozen  in  the  ministry,  that  have,  in  a  few  years  past, 
been  removed  by  mortality  in  their  youth,  or  in  the  meridian  of  their 
days,  who  were  all  useful  in  their  places,  and  some  of  them  emi- 
nently so.  —  Foxcroft's  Sermon. 

lie  gives,  in  a  note,  a  list  of  twenty-one  who  had  lately  died  with- 
in the  state,  of  whom  "  several  were  under  thirty,  and  the  most  not 
above  forty."  Within  what  period  of  time,  it  is  not  slated.  Mr.  Coo- 
per, refering  to  the  same  mortality,  says,  "  The  removal  of  valuable 
and  excellent  persons  is,  alas  !  no  uncommon  thing  in  this  land  of 
dying."  C.  Mather,  in  the  preface  to  his  sermon,  speaks  in  a  sim- 
ilar strain. 

t  Foxcrofl  says,  "  I  find  his  death  as  much  regretted  amongst  us 
as  almost  any  I  have  known  ;"  and  Cotton  Mather  speaks  of  the 
••sorrow,  yea,  a  general,  a  very  uncommon  sorrow." 


1,80  THE    NEW   BRICK    CHURCH. 

After  an  interval  of  about  six  n>onths,  William  Welsteed, 
who  had  been  for  some  time  a  respected  tutor  at  the  college, 
was  invited  to  fill  the  place  vacated  by  the  death  of  Mr. 
Waldron,  and  was  ordained  on  the  27th  day  of  May,  1728. 
He  preached  his  own  ordination  sermon.  He  continued  to 
hold  the  office  of  pastor  singly  for  a  little  more  than  ten 
years,  when  Mr.  Ellis  Gray  was  united  with  him  as  a  col- 
league ;  in  which  relation  they  remained  together  fifteen 
years.  (4) 

During  this  period  of  time,  I  am  unable  to  say  particu- 
larly what  was  the  state  of  the  congregation.  I  cannot  learn 
that  it  was  remarkably  flourishing  or  remarkably  otherwise ; 
but  it  probably  enjoyed  about  the  ordinary  share  of  pros- 
perity. The  two  pastors  were  not  among  the  most  distin- 
guished in  town,  though  faithful  and  highly  respectable 
men.  During  the  great  religious  excitements  of  this  period, 
they  appear  to  have  fallen  in  with  the  current.  I  find,  how- 
ever, from  a  well-written,  serious,  animated  sermon,  de- 
livered in  1742,  at  an  ordination,  by  Mr.  Gray,  that  he  was 
fully  aware  of  the  dangers  and  evils  of  that  period,  and  did 
not  hesitate  to  speak  of  the  "discord,  division,  bitterness, 
clamor,  wrath,  evil-speaking,  groundless  surmises  and  jeal- 
ousies," which  prevailed  in  the  churches.  Neither  of  the 
ministers,  however,  were  among  the  leaders  on  either  side, 
though  possibly  it  was  to  his  opinion  on  this  subject  that 
Welsteed  alluded,  when  he  said,  in  his  last  illness,  "  I  have 
in  some  things  thought  differently  from  my  brethren,  but  I 
thank  God  I  have  constantly  meant  well." 

It  was  at  this  period,  that  our  evening  lecture  before  the 
communion  was  established ;  *  and  at  the  same  time,  the 
season  of  the  communion  was  changed  from  every  fourth 

•  March  15,  1741. 


THE   NEW   BRICK   CHURCH.  181 

week,  to  the  first  Sabbath  of  every  month.  After  two 
months,  however,  the  vote  was  reconsidered,  and  the  old 
term  of  rotation  restored,  which  continues  unchanged  to 
the  present  time.  It  was  during  this  period,  the  year  after 
the  ordination  of  Mr.  Welsteed,*  that  the  custom  was 
dropped  of  singing  by  the  separate  reading  of  each  line. 
In  1735,  after  much  debate,  it  was  determined  to  have  two 
ruling  elders  in  the  church  —  an  office  which  had  become 
almost  obsolete,  and  which,  after  this  attempt  to  revive  it, 
sunk  forever. t  In  1751,  (July  10,)  Watts's  Psalms  and 
Hymns  were  introduced  in  the  worship  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
continued  in  use  until  superseded  by  Belknap's  Collection, 
in  1817,  (Nov.  9,) —  a  period  of  sixty-six  years. 

The  circumstances  attending  the  death  of  these  two  min- 
isters were  remarkable  and  melancholy.  Gray  died  sud- 
denly on  Lord's  day,  January  7,  1753,  in  the  thirty-seventh 
year  of  his  age  and  fifteenth  of  his  ministry.  We  have 
little  means  of  knowing  intimately  his  character ;  but  he  is 
represented  to  us  as  a  man  much  respected,  of  early  and 
uniform  piety,  remarkably  given  to  hospitality,  and  direct- 
ing his  life,  says  Samuel  Mather, J  as  if  he  had  perpetually 
in  view  Paul's  description  of  his  own  conversation  —  "that 
in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  not  by  fleshy  wisdom,  but 
by  the  grace  of  God,  he  had  his  conversation  in  the  world." 
If  we  might  judge  of  his  gifts  in  preaching  by  the  two 
sermons  which  I  have  seen,  we  should  assign  him  quite  a 

•  July  31,  1729. 

t  This  matter  of  the  ruling  elders  was  debated  at  numerous 
church  meetings  from  March  17,  1735,  to  November  11,  1736;  at 
which  time  only  oue  person  (Deacon  James  Halsy)  had  been  found 
to  accept  the  office,  and  the  church  at  last  voted  not  to  choose 
another. 

t  Sermon  after  the  death  of  Welsteed  and  Gray. 

16 


182  THE    NEW   BRICK   CHURCIL 

respectable  rank  as  a  writer,  and  as  a  man  of  talents  and 
piety. 

His  colleague,  Welsteed,  survived  him  not  quite  four 
months.  He  died  on  the  29th  of  April,  having  been  struck 
with  palsy  the  preceding  Sunday,  just  after  the  commence- 
ment of  the  morning  service,  having  lived  fifty-seven  years, 
and  been  minister  twenty-five.  Here  was  the  melancholy 
spectacle  of  a  church  in  mourning  for  two  pastors  at  once, 
both  cut  off  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  life.  And  to  render 
the  visitation  yet  more  affecting,  they  both  died  of  the  same 
disease ;  both  died  on  the  Sabbath,  on  the  communion  Sab- 
bath, at  the  same  time  of  day ;  each  having  preached  for 
the  last  time  to  his  own  people,  and  the  last  sermon 
preached  by  both  being  on  the  same  subject  — "  redeem- 
ing the  time,  because  the  days  are  evil."  * 

Welsteed  is  characterized  as  a  man  of  eminent  sincerity 
and  integrity,  *'  good-natured,  contented,  patient,  and  always 
ready  to  every  good  office  of  morality  and  religion,  and 
conscientiously  diligent  in  his  ministerial  labors,  especially 
in  his  preparation  for  the  pulpit."  In  preaching,  it  was 
remarked  of  him,  that  "  he  was  careful  not  to  insist  on 
those  points,  about  which  wise  and  good  Protestants  have 
different  sentiments  ;  "  but  confined  himself  to  *'  those  doc- 
trines of  religion,  which  are  not  disputed  amongst  sound 
Protestants,  and  the  impressive  duties  of  repentance,  faith, 
love,  and  universal  and  constant  obedience."  This  suffi- 
ciently expresses  to  us  the  nature  of  his  views  of  religion, 
and  it  is  corroborated  by  the  circumstance  that  he  derived 
particular  support,  in  his  last  days,  "  from  his  upright  walk 
before  the  Lord,  and  his  consciousness  of  it."  This  fact  is 
mentioned  by  the  preacher,  on  his  death,  with  emphasis,  as 
if  to  mark  the  character  of  his  faith.* 

*  S.  Mather's  sermon. 


THE    NEW    BRICK    CH0RCH.  183 

After  the  death  of  Gray  and  Welsteed,  the  pastoral  office 
was  vacant  eleven  months,  and  was  then  filled  by  the  instal- 
ment of  Ebenezer  Peiuberton,  previously  minister  of  a 
Presbyterian  church  in  New  York,  and  a  preacher  of  un- 
common popularity,  who  attracted  crowds  by  his  captivat- 
ing manner.  In  the  earlier  part  of  his  life,  he  had  been 
chaplain  at  Castle  William,  and  in  1727  *  had  been  or- 
dained minister  of  a  Presbyterian  church^jn  New  York. 
The  ordination  took  place  in  the  Old  South  church,  and 
Dr.  Colman  preached.  After  a  ministry  in  that  city  of 
twenty-two  years,  he,  together  with  his  colleague,  Alexander 
Gumming,  were  obliged  to  relinquish  their  places  on  ac- 
count of  dissensions  in  the  congregation,  although  it  is  said 
they  took  no  part  in  the  disputes.  This  was  durincr  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Welsteed,  and  he 
was  soon  invited  to  succeed  him.  The  installation  took 
place  the  6th  of  March,  1754,  and  his  ministry  lasted 
twenty-three  years.  (5) 

It  was  during  his  ministry  that  tiie  Old  North  meeting- 
house was  destroyed  ;  and  when  the  inhabitants  returned  to 
their  homes,  after  the  evacuation  of  the  town,  this  meeting- 
house being  sufficiently  large  to  accommodate  both  concrre- 
gations,  they  worshiped  together  for  three  years,  and  then 
a  junction  was  formed,  which  has  proved  perpetual.  (G)  Dr. 
Pembcrton  died  before  this  event,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
seventy-two.t  During  the  last  years  of  his  life,  he  had  lost 
that  extraordinary  popularity  which  followed  him  at  first, 
and  his  manner  was  thought  to  be  even  so  disagreeable, 
that  the  congregation  in  consequence  became  extremely 
thin.  lie  was  esteemed,  however,  as  a  faithful  minister, 
and  is  stated  to  have  been  particularly   remarkable  for   a 

V 

•  August  9.  t  September  15,  1777. 


184  THE    NEW    BRICK    CHCTRCH, 

"  fervid  kind  "  of  piety.  "  He  vehemently  aspired  after  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel,  and  had  the  consolations  of  it  during  a 
long  and  trying  sickness."  *  He  was  a  strict  Calvinist,  the 
last  minister  of  that  faith  in  this  church,  in  his  earlier  days 
exceeding  zealous  against  heretics,  though  in  later  life  he 
grew  more  candid.  In  these  particulars  he  resembled 
Whitefield,  of  whom  he  was  a  warm  admirer  and  adherent, 
and  whose  eulog||p  he  pronounced  at  his  death.  He  was  not 
a  man  of  remarkable  powers  of  mind,  but  well  acquainted 
with  books,  and  had  the  command  of  a  style  not  only  cor- 
rect, but  elegant  and  oftentimes  beautiful.  He  published  a 
volume  of  sermons  a  few  years  before  his  death,  on  salva- 
tion by  grace,  which,  besides  the  ordinary  views  of  that 
subject,  which  you  might  expect  from  one  of  his  faith,  con- 
tain many  appeals  and  exhortations  that  are  not  wanting  in 
pathos  and  power. 

When  Dr.  Lathrop  took  charge  of  these  churches,  after 
their  union,  he  had  been  ordained  over  the  Old  North 
eleven  years ;  and  he  afterward  accomplished  a  faithful  and 
honorable  ministry  of  thirty-nine  years.  Of  his  life,  char- 
acter, and  labors,  you  do  not  need,  brethren,  that  I  should 
speak  to  you ;  for  they  are  familiar  to  your  memories. 
Many  of  you  have  grown  up  from  childhood  under  his  min- 
istry, and  retain  for  him  a  filial  and  affectionate  respect ; 
and  all  can  remember  his  venerable  and  serene  old  age, 
when  for  years  he  presented  the  only  hoary  head  that  ap- 
peared in  our  pulpits,  was  the  father  amidst  a  numerous 
clorcry  much  younger  than  liimself,  and  became  an  object  of 
increasing  interest  and  value  as  he  drew  nearer  his  home. 
No  one,  who  ever  knew  him  at  all,  can  forget  the  benignity 
of  his    appearance,  the  apostolical  simplicity  of  his    char- 

•  Dr.  Eliot,  Biog.  Dictionary. 


THE    NEW    LliICK    CHURCH.  186 

RCter,  his  gentleness  and  affectionateness  of  disposition,  and 
his  devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  his  country  and  of  man. 
After  a  long  life,  in  which  he  give  himself  much  to  public 
cares,  and  was  the  faithful  patron  of  many  of  our  best  in- 
stitutions, he  passed  to  his  reward  on  the  fourth  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 181G,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years. 

His  successor  was  ordained  on  the  first  day  of  the  next 
year.  (7)  The  history  of  the  remaining  lime  I  need  not 
repeat.  It  has  been  a  season  t)f  tranquillity  and  prosperity, 
for  which  we  should  be  devoutly  thankful.  And  I  con- 
gratulate you,  iny  brethren,  that  the  century,  which  began 
in  discord  And  strife,  we  have  seen  close  in  perfect  har- 
mony ;  that  the  congregations,  which  separated  from  each 
other  with  hostile  feelings  and  enkindled  passions,  we  see 
walking  together  in  love,  and  minding  the  things  that  make 
for  peace,  and  uniting,  as  sister  churches,  in  the  nearest 
offices  of  Christian  fellowship.  Long,  long  may  this  con- 
tinue ;  never  may  it  be  interrupted ;  may  no  greetings,  but 
those  of  love,  ever  pass  between  thorn;  —  but  when,  century 
after  century,  to  the  end  of  time,  this  day  shall  come  round, 
may  they  be  still  found  striving  together  only  in  love  and 
good  works  —  with  one  faith,  one  Lord,  one  baptism,  one 
God  and  Father  of  all. 

We  have  thus  looked  back  upon  the  history  of  this 
united  church  through  a  series  of  one  hundred  and  seventy 
years.  We  have  traced  its  ancient  branch  from  that  time, 
when  there  was  but  one  otlier  in  the  town,  and  when  the 
whole  neighboring  country,  instead  of  a  flourishing  land  of 
civilized  inhabitants,  presented  to  view  only  an  uncultivated 
desert,  trodden  by  savages,  with  here  and  there  a  few  settle- 
ments, which  had  been  reared  as  cities  of  refuge  for  perse- 
cuted Puritans,  —  who  tilled  the  fields  with  their  armor 
girded  on,  and  kept  their  Sabbaths  and  their  fasts  with 
10* 


186  THE    NEW   BEICK   CHURCH. 

muskets  by  their  sides.  From  that  perilous  and  romantic 
period  we  have  traced  it,  step  by  step,  seeing  it  grow  under 
the  abundant  blessing  of  Heaven,  and  the  toils  of  celebrated 
men,  till  it  has  sent  off  one  after  another  company  to  erect 
new  altars  to  the  Most  High,  and  at  length  blended  itself 
with  a  younger  church,  which  it  had  favored  in  a  day  of 
weakness  and  fear,  and  then  received  again  to  its  bosom  the 
remnant  of  those,  who  had  once  gone  from  it  in  the  day  of 
division.  We  have  traced  the  other  branch  from  its  birth, 
precisely  a  century  ago,  and  followed  it  through  the  various 
discipline  of  God's  judgment  and  mercy ;  till  at  length  it 
was  reconciled  to  its  sister,  and  received  beneath  its  roof  its 
venerable  ancestor ;  and  now,  to-day,  we  rejoice  together  in 
the  way  through  which  God  has  led  us  these  forty  years  of 
our  union.  We  notice  the  vicissitudes  of  the  world,  the 
flight  of  time,  the  providence  of  God  toward  our  land, 
and  gather  lessons  of  wisdom  from  a  consideration  of  the 
past.  We  look  up  to  Him  who  planted  and  watered  this 
vine,  and  has  caused  successive  generations  to  see  its 
beauty  and  partake  of  its  fruit,  and  exclaim  w^ith  the  pious 
king  of  Israel,  The  Lord  our  God  be  with  us,  as  he  was  with 
our  fathers;  let  him  not  have  us  nor  forsake  us! 

In  the  period  which  we  have  been  thus  surveying,  two 
changes  have  taken  place  of  such  magnitude  and  impor- 
tance, that  they  cannot  escape  our  observation.  The  first  is 
in  regard  to  the  ol)servance  of  the  ordinances  of  our  faith. 
In  the  d:ivs  of  our  fithers,  the  number  of  those,  who  felt  so 
far  bound  to  their  religion  as  to  observe  its  peculiar  rites, 
was  much  larger  than  amongst  ourselves.  During  the  min- 
istry of  the  Mathers,  the  average  number  of  those  amuially 
admitted  to  the  communion  of  the  church  was  twenty  ;  in 
several  years,  rising  above  fifty  ami  in  that  preceding  the 
death  of  Cotton  Mather,  amounting  to  seventy-one.     The 


THE    NKW    BRICK    CHURCH.  187 

number  during  his  ministry  was  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  —  more  than  the  whole  number  of  communicants  for  the 
last  seventy  years.  With  respect  to  the  other  ordinance, 
the  difference  is  quite  as  remarkable.  The  number  of  bap- 
tisms during  the  last  thirty-nine  years  of  the  period  just 
mentioned,  was  three  thousand  tliree  hundred  and  eighty- 
four  ;  being  a  yearly  average  of  eighty-six,  and  rising,  in 
several  instances,  to  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty. 
This  shows  the  difference  of  Christian  fidelity  in  regard  to 
the  positive  appointments  of  religion.  Not  that  there  is 
probably  less  real  Christianity.  There  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that  the  general  mass  of  the  community  is  worse  in 
faith  or  in  practice  than  at  that  time ;  in  many  respects,  it  is 
certainly  better.  But  in  those  days,  there  was  a  strict  adhe- 
rence to  all  the  forms  and  externrJ  observances  of  the 
gospel,  on  which  it  was  the  character  of  their  faith  to  lay 
peculiar  stress ;  whilst  we  are  too  much  satisfied  with  a 
very  general  regard  to  what  we  call  the  spirit  of  religion, 
and  are  i)rone  to  undervalue  its  positive  institutions.  So 
that,  while  our  places  of  public  worship  are  as  fully  and 
seriously  attended,  and  the  purposes  of  Christianity,  in  ordi- 
nary life,  as  well  accomplished,  the  table  of  the  Lord 
witnesses  a  thinner  attendance,*  and  more  of  our  children 
grow  up  without  baptism.  It  is  undoubtedly  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  nature  of  our  Lord's  kingdom,  which  ele- 
vates the  spirit  above  the    form.     But  why  will    not    men 

*  Thoiiirh  I  spoak  liore  in  genoral  terms,  1  refer  particularly  to 
this  church;  for  1  am  not  able  to  decide  how  far  it  may  be  warrant- 
ed as  a  general  remark.  I  know  myself  of  many  exceptions.  To 
take,  for  e.xample,  the  church  In  West  Boston  :  it  appears  from  a 
sermon  lately  published  by  the  pastor,  that  the  admissions  to  that 
church  for  the  last  sixteen  years  have  been  twenty  on  an  average  ; 
which  is  equal  to  the  best  days  of  the  Mathers. 


188  THE    NEW    BEICK    CHURCH. 

learn,  that  they  may  avoid  one  extreme  without  rushing  to 
the  other  ?  When  will  they  feel  the  force  of  that  admoni- 
tion of  our  blessed  Lord  —  These  ought  ye  to  have  done, 
and  not  to  have  left  the  other  undone  7 

The  other  change  to  which  I  alluded  is  that  which  has 
taken  place  in  the  views  of  religious  faith,  which  have  been 
here  presented  and  professed.  This  is  a  most  important 
and  happy  change.  The  church  was  established  on  those 
doctrines,  into  which  men  settled  when  they  first  broke 
from  the  Romish  domination,  which  had  been  confirmed 
amidst  the  passion  and  excitements  of  contention  with  the 
English  hierarchy,  and  were  finally  set  in  an  authorized 
form  during  the  violent  storms  of  a  civil  and  religious  war. 
These  doctrines  our  ancestors  held,  and  the  founders  of 
this  church  received  them  as  they  were  fashioned  and  ex- 
hibited by  the  assembly  of  divines  at  Westminster.  One  of 
the  eminent  Puritans,  the  minister  of  the  first  company  of 
pilgrims,  had  warned  our  fathers  not  to  bind  themselves  to 
the  faith  as  then  established.  His  great  mind  perceived 
that  the  reformation  was  not  yet  accomplished.  He  was  as- 
sured, he  said,  that  God  had  still  more  light  to  break  forth 
from  his  holy  word  ;  and  he  exhorted  them  not  to  stick 
where  Calvin  and  Luther  had  left  them,  for  they  saw  not 
all  things.  And  yet,  for  a  long  time,  there  they  did  stick. 
But  at  length  the  light  he  had  predicted  broke  forth,  and 
the  eyes  of  one  church  after  another  were  opened.  For 
nearly  fifty  years,  the  doctrines  of  Calvin  have  not  been 
heard  within  these  walls ;  but  a  milder,  happier  faith  has 
won  sinners  to  iieaven,  and  comforted  the  hearts  that 
tremble  at  God's  word.  Brethren,  I  congratulate  you  on 
the  change.  I  rejoice  with  you  that  we  are  not  bound  down 
to  any  form  of  words  of  human  device,  nor  enslaved,  by  the 
fear  of  man,  to  any  set  of  opinions  published  to  the  world  by 


THE    NEW    BRICK   CHURCH.  18d 

pope,  council,  or  assembly.  I  joy  with  you,  that  we  can  say 
o-day,  "  The  Bible  only  is  our  creed ;  we  drink  from  none  bul 
this  fountain  of  living  waters  ;  we  have  not  committed,  and 
we  will  not  commit,  either  of  the  two  evils,  the  forsaking 
this,  or  the  going  to  other  cisterns,  broken  cisterns,  that  can 
hold  no  water."  You  cannot  value  your  privilege  too  highly. 
If  there  be  any  loud  call  for  your  gratitude  to-day,  it  is  for 
this  blessing,  in  which  it  has  pleased  God  to  distinguish  you 
beyond  your  fathers.  And  I  entreat  you,  consider,  if  they, 
less  favored  in  the  rights  of  conscience  and  the  inestimable 
blessing  of  religious  liberty,  were  yet  so  devoted  and  zeal- 
ous men,  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  —  consider 
what  manner  of  persons  you  ought  to  be  in  all  holy  conver- 
sation and  godliness.  Put  not  from  you  their  love  of  the 
Scriptures,  their  faithful  attendance  on  the  public  and  pri- 
vate worship  of  God,  their  eminent  and  firm  attachment  to 
principle,  their  fidelity  in  the  religious  education  of  their 
children.  Let  it  never  be  said,  that  with  increasing  priv- 
ileges there  is  a  decreasing  religion.  But,  as  you  hope  at 
last  to  join  them  in  that  world,  where  your  errors  and  their 
errors  shall  be  alike  removed,  and  all  shall  see  with  one  eye, 
let  it  not  be  then  found,  that  with  your  better  knowledge 
you  have  fallen  short  in  the  race,  while  their  higher  attain- 
ments rise  up  to  your  shame  and  condemnation. 

The  occasion  reminds  us  what  a  changing  and  dying 
world  we  live  in.  This  house  has  stood  for  a  hundred 
years ;  and  who  is  there  left  amonff  you  that  sair  it  in  its 
^rst  glory  ?  Every  one  of  the  crowd  that  thronged  it  then 
has  long  since  departed  to  his  eternal  home.  Five  succes- 
sive ministers  have  labored  here,  and  gone  to  their  account. 
Even  in  the  memory  of  many  present,  every  scat  has 
changed  its  occupant.  You  seek  the  friend.s  whom  you 
once  met  here,  and  they  are  gone.     Time  has  more  than 


190  THE    NEW    BRICK    CHUECH. 

once  swept  clean  these  seats;  and  how  soon  will  it  be  done 
again !  The  celebration  of  a  day  like  this  no  man  can 
hope  to  see  twice.  When  Xerxes  looked  upon  his  immense 
army,  and  thought  that  in  a  hundred  years  not  one  of  that 
multitude  would  be  living,  he  was  overcome  by  the  reflec- 
tion, and  wept  aloud.  I  would  not  have  you  ivcrp,  brethren, 
as  the  same  thought  passes  your  mind  in  looking  round  you 
now,  —  for  the  Christian  in  his  church  should  regard  time 
and  death  with  other  views  than  the  heathen  at  his  army's 
head,  — but  I  would  to  God  you  would  pause  and  consider. 
The  time  is  short.  A  century  !  What  is  a  century  1  Ask 
the  man  of  eighty,  who  has  almost  seen  that  term,  and  he 
will  tell  you  it  is  as  yesterday  when  it  is  past  ;  it  is  but  as 
a  day  and  a  night,  and  he  that  has  survived  it  does  not  feel 
that  he  has  lived  longer  than  when  he  had  lived  but  twenty 
years.  Yet  in  that  space  what  changes  occur  !  The  strong 
men  and  women,  and  the  very  children  of  this  assembly, 
shall  in  that  time  be  no  more  numbered  among  the  living  ; 
the  youngest  child  here,  yea,  the  very  infant  "that  we  have 
this  day  offered  in  baptism  shall  have  witnessed  all  the  for- 
tunes of  life,  and  perhaps  worn  a  gray  head  for  years,  and 
perchance  grown  weary  of  a  helpless  and  burdensome  old 
age,  and  then  slumbered  for  years  in  the  mighty  congrega- 
tion of  the  dead,  before  a  century  shall  close.  In  a  century, 
cities  flourish  and  decay,  the  boundaries  of  nations  are 
broken  up,  and  the  earth  changes  all  its  inhabitants  again 
and  again.  Observe  what  has  taken  place  just  around  you 
during  that  vvliich  has  now  passed.  Instead  of  eleven 
churches  in  this  town,  you  find  twenty-eight,  and  all  have  been 
built  or  rebuilt  within  that  time  excepting  two.*  You  find 
a  flourishing  city  instead  of  a  small  town,  a  sovereign  state 

*  The  New  Brick  and  the  Old  South. 


THE    NEW    BRICK    CHORCII. 


191 


for  a  dependent  colony,  a  mighty  nation  for  a  few  scattered 
provinces.  And  who  can  number  tlie  changes  in  the  old 
eastern  world  !  —  the  improvements  that  have  carried  the 
sciences  and  arts  to  an  uneiiiiuUed  perfection,  and  the  con- 
vulsions and  revolutions  that  have  removed  again  and  again 
the  landmarks  of  empire,  and  elevated  the  low  and  depressed 
the  high  amongst  the  nations,  like  the  heaving  of  the  earth 
in  the  throes  of  an  earthquake  !  All  this  has  been  ;  and 
yet  what  is  a  century  ?  He  that  should  have  lived  through 
all,  and  look  on  the  world  in  its  present  state,  would  almost 
feel  as  if  the  whole  had  been  eftected  in  a  moment,  by  the 
wand  of  enchantment  :  —  the  time  has  fled  like  a  dream. 
What,  then,  will  time  be  to  those,  who  know,  as  we  do,  that 
we  have  probably  a  small  part  of  such  a  period  to  live!  O 
that  we  miffht  learn  so  to  number  our  days,  that  we  should 
apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom  ! 

Finally,  brethren,  permit  me  to  congratulate  you  on  the 
prosperous  condition  in  which  this  day  finds  you.  These 
walls  have  stood  a  hundred  years, —  and  they  still  stand 
firm.  Whilst  you  have  seen  most  of  your  sister  churches 
compelled  to  destroy  the  ancient  temples,  in  which  they  and 
their  fathers  had  worshiped,  lest  they  should  fall  upon  them 
in  ruins,  and  burdened  with  the  costly  labor  of  rearing  other 
places  of  worship,  you  have  the  privilege  of  still  assembling 
in  this  hou.se  of  your  ancestors,  consecrated  by  age,  and  by 
the  devout  breathings  of  great  and  pious  men  of  the  times 
that  are  gone  by  ;  where  the  word  of  life  has  been  preached 
to  four  successive  generations,  where  every  spot  is  hallowed 
as  your  appropriate  religious  home,  and  the  very  ground  on 
which  you  stand  is  holy.  There  is  something  solemnly 
pleasing  in  the  thought,  that  the  walls  which  are  echoing 
back  the  voice  of  your  preacher  and  the  songs  of  your  praise, 
have  resounded  with  those  of  venerable  men,  whose  praise 


192  THE    NEW   BRICK    CHURCH. 

is  in  all  the  clmrches,  that  have  long  been  sleeping  in  the 
dust,  and  are  strangers  to  all  themes  but  those  of  jreligion. 
And  there  is  something  delightful  in  the  hope,  that  our 
children  and  children's  children  shall  sit  where  we  have 
been  sitting,  and  seek  the  inspiration  of  Heaven  on  the 
same  spot  where  we  have  found  it.  This  hope,  my  friends, 
is  yours.  God,  it  is  true,  may  commission  his  elements,  and 
they  shall  shake  this  house  to  its  foundations  at  once.  The 
earthquake  and  storm  have  hitherto  assailed  it  in  vain,  and 
it  has  thrice  been  rescued  from  devouring  flames.*  Another 
visitation  may  destroy  it  without  remedy.  But  in  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  Providence  it  may  see  this  day  return, 
and  listen  to  the  devout  thanksgivings  of  those  who  shall 
assemble  here  — without  one  of  us  amongst  them —  to  cele- 
brate the  mercy  of  Him,  who,  in  the  midst  of  change  and 
death,  is  forever  the  same.  And  when  that  day  shall  come, 
O,  may  it  find  our  children  wiser,  and  purer,  and  worthier 
than  we.  If  God  have  any  more  light  to  break  forth  from 
his  Word,  may  it  be  theirs  to  see  it  and  rejoice  in  it.  And 
we  too  will  rejoice  in  it,  —  as  we  doubt  not  the  spirits  of 
the  good  men  that  came  up  here  to  dedicate  this  house  are 
rejoicing  in  the  greater  light  which  God  has  poured  upon 
us.  May  that  day  find  all  the  darkness  of  error  and  super- 
stition which  clouds  our  faith  removed,  and  all  the  sins 
which  defile  our  lives  banished,  and  as  many  surrounding 
the  table  of  their  Lord,  as  worship  at  the  altar  of  their  God. 
Happy  they  that  shall  see  that  day  !  Thrice  happy  they 
that   shall    walk    in    that    light!     Yea,    hapj)y    even    these 

*  A  memorandum  of  Deacon  Tudor,  in  1779,  informs  us  that 
"the  sudden  judgments  of  an  earthquake,  terrible  storm,  and  fire 
have  all  three  done  damage  to  the  meeting-house  within  his  remem- 
brance ;  "  and  records  three  instances  in  which  it  was  in  imniinent 
danger  of  being  consumed  by  fire. 


THE    NEW   BRICK   CHURCH.  193 

venerable  walls,  that  shall  have  witnessed  the  gathering 
knowledge  and  growing  virtue  of  many  generations,  and 
shall  then  hear  prayers  of  warmer  devotion,  and  the  out- 
pouring of  hearts  lifted  nearer  to  heaven,  and  shall  learn 
something  of  that  purer  and  more  perfect  worship,  which  is 
to  be  the  employment  and  glory  of  the  temple  above !  In 
that  temple  there  shall  be  no  change  of  day  and  night,  and 
no  revolution  of  time ;  a  thousand  years  shall  be  but  as  one 
uninterrupted  day;  and  no  returning  century  sh;dl  warn  us 
that  life  is  drawing  nearer  to  its  close  —  for  that  life  shall 
have  no  close.  In  that  glorious  temple,  in  that  unchangincr 
day,  may  it  be  our  happiness  to  meet  those  venerable  saints, 
who  have  crowded  these  courts  before  us,  and  the  multitude 
of  our  posterity,  who  shall  have  received  the  beginning  of 
that  life  on  this  spot,  where  their  fathers  worshiped.  This 
is  our  heart's  desire  and  prayer — that  the  power  of  the  gos- 
pel may  always  be  exhibited  here  in  preparing  men  for 
salvation. 

"  And  in  that  great,  decisive  day, 
When  God  the  nations  shall  survey, 
May  it  before  the  world  appear, 
Thousands  were  bokn  to  cLoKr  here  !  " 


17 


NOTES    TO    SERMON    XII. 


(1)  p.  155.  The  names  of  those  first  gathered  in  the  church  were, 
Michael  Powell,  James  Ashwood,  Christopher  Gibson,  John  Philips, 
George  Davis,  Michael  Wills,  John  Farnham.  The  original  cove- 
nant is  an  instrument  of  some  length,  not  at  all  in  the  manner  of 
articles  of  faith,  but  simply  an  expression  of  unworthiness,  of  de- 
pendence on  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  resolutions  to  walk  agreeably  to 
the  gospel.  The  form,  which  was  adopted  and  used  in  the  recep- 
tion of  members  afterward,  was  in  these  words  :  — 

"  Tou  do,  in  this  solemn  presence,  give  up  yourself,  even  your 
whole  self,  you  and  yours,  to  the  true  God  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  to 
his  people  also,  according  to  the  will  of  God,  promising  to  walk 
with  God,  and  with  this  church  of  his,  in  all  his  holy  ordinances, 
and  to  yield  obedience  to  every  truth  of  his,  which  has  been  or  shall 
be  made  known  to  you  as  your  duty,-  the  Lord  assisting  you  by  his 
Spirit  and  grace. 

"  We,  then,  the  church  of  Christ,  in  this  place,  do  receive  you 
into  the  fellowship,  and  promise  to  walk  towards  you,  and  to  watch 
over  you  as  a  member  of  this  church,  endeavoring  your  spiritual 
edification  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

(2)  p.  155.  Samuel  Mather  was  the  son  of  Richard  Mather,  who 
came  from  England,  for  conscience'  sake,  in  1635,  and  was  for  many 
years  a  worthy  minister  in  Dorchester.  He  was  nine  years  old  when 
he  accompanied  his  father  to  New  England,  and  was  m  the  second 
class  tliat  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College.  He  was  so  much  be- 
loved as  an  instructor  afterward,  tliat,  on  his  quitting  the  place,  the 
students  "  put  on  tokens  of  mourning  in  their  very  garments  for  it." 
He  went  to  England  in  1650,  to  the  disappointment  of  more  than 
one  church,  which  had  greatly  desired  his  settlement.  After  five 
years  spent  in  England  and  Scotland,  he  went  to  Dublin,  and  be 


NOTKS    TO    SERMON    XJI.  195 

came  senior  follow  of  Trinity  College.  Here,  upon  the  king's 
restoration,  he  preached  two  sermons  against  the  revival  of  the 
ceremonies  of  the  English  church,  which  were  full  of  power  and 
spirit,  for  which  he  was  silenced.*  He  then  returned  to  England, 
and  preached  with  great  reputation,  until  the  act  of  conformity,  in 
1662,  under  which  he  was  one  of  the  two  thousand  sufferers.  He 
then  returned  to  his  church  in  Dublin,  and  preached  to  them  with- 
out molestation,  in  a  private  house,  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He 
died  October  29,  1671,  aged  45,  greatly  respected,  and  of  extensive 
reputation  as  a  preacher.  During  his  last  residence  in  Dublin,  he 
had  a  pressing  invitation  from  one  of  the  churches  in  this  town, 
according  to  Dr.  Calamy,  to  become  their  minister. 

(3)  p.  156.  There  is  little  known  of  Mr.  Mayo,  excepting  what  is 
contained  in  the  records  of  the  church,  in  the  handwriting  of 
Increase  Mather.  I  copy  it  here,  because  it  has  often  been  said, 
that  nothing  is  known  of  him,  e.tcept  that  he  was  minister  of  the 
Second  Church;  and  the  records  have  been  so  carelessly  examined, 
that  in  the  "  Collections  of  the  Historical  Society,"  (iii.  258,)  it  is 
asserted,  that  "  neither  the  time  of  his  ordination,  nor  decease,  is  to 
be  found  in  the  records  of  the  church." 

"  In  the  beginning  of  which  year,  [1672,]  Mr.  Mayo,  the  pastor, 
likewise  grew  very  infirm,  inasmuch  as  the  congregation  was  not 
able  to  hear,  and  be  edified  ;  wherefore  the  brethren  (the  pastor 
manifesting  his  concurrence)  desired  the  teacher  to  take  care  for  a 
supply  of  the  congregation,  that  the  worship  of  God  maybe  upheld 
amongst  us,  which  was,  for  the  present,  by  him  consented  to,  as 
Christ  should  enable  him. 

"  On  the  15th  day  of  the  2d  month,  1673,  Mr.  Mayo  removed 
his  person  and  goods  also  from  Boston,  to  reside  with  his  daugh- 
ter in  Barnstable,  where,  (and  at  Yarmouth,)  since  he  hath  lived  a 
private  life  ;  as  not  being  able  (through  the  infirmities  of  old  age) 

to  attend  the  work  of  the  minstry.     The day  of  3d   month, 

[May,]  1676,  he  departed  this  life  at  Yarmouth,  and  was  there 
buried." 

•  These  sermons  I  met  with  in  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  and  found  in  them 
passages  in  the  finest  style  of  that  peculiar  Puritan  eloquence  which  is  so 
happily  imitated  in  Walter  Scott's  romances. 


196  NOTES    TO    SERMON    XII. 

I  will  add,  here,  that,  through  the  kindnoss  of  the  Rev.  E.  Q. 
Sewall,  who  examined,  at  my  request,  the  church  and  town  rccordfl 
of  Harnstable,  I  have  learned  that  Mr.  Mayo  was  one  of  the  original 
settlers  of  that  town,  but  from  what  place  he  came,  does  not  appear. 
The  Hon.  John  Davis  has  also  favored  me  with  the  sight  of  a  pas- 
sage, in  the  records  of  the  Plymouth  church,  which  informs  us  that 
Mr.  Mayo  was  teacher  in  the  church  at  Barnstable,  while  the  Rev. 
John  Lothrop  was  pastor  there,  and  was  thence  removed  to  East- 
ham,  [Nauset,]  upon  the  gathering  of  a  church  in  that  place,  and  was 
afterward  settled  in  Boston.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Shaw,  of  Eastham,  in- 
forms me  that  he  cannot  find  that  such  a  person  ever  was  minister 
in  that  place  ;  that,  previous  to  his  own  settlement,  there  had  been 
but  three  ministers,  Mr.  Treat,  Mr.  Webb,  and  Mr.  Cheever,  with 
the  exception  of  Mr.  Osborn,  who  removed  to  another  part  of  the 
town,  now  called  Orleans.  He  thinks,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Mayo's 
residence  must  have  been  only  occasional  in  the  town.  That  noth- 
ing of  Mr.  Mayo's  ministry  appears  on  the  church  records  of  East- 
ham,  does  not,  I  think,  argue  any  thing  against  his  having  been 
minister  there ;  for  he  left  no  records  at  all  of  his  ministry  in  Bos- 
ton, and,  if  it  were  not  for  the  testimony  of  other  men,  would  not 
be  known  to  have  resided  here. 

(4)  p.  157.  This  fire  broke  out  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  No- 
vember 27.  It  burnt  forty-five  dwelling-houses,  and  several  ware- 
houses, besides  the  meeting-house.  Its  progress  was  stopped  by  a 
heavy  rain.  The  following  vote  is  all  the  notice  contained  in  the 
records  of  this  event.  It  would  appear  from  the  last  clause,  that  it 
was  customary,  at  that  time,  for  some  of  tlie  pews  to  be  entered  by 
a  door  through  the  side  of  the  house. 

'♦  At  a  church  meeting  at  our  Deaqon  Philips  his  house,  3  of 
tenth  month,  1676. 

"  Voted  and  agreed,  tliat  Mr.  Richards,  brother  CoHicot,  brother 
Philips,  brother  Tyrii,  brother  Hudson,  be  appointed  as  a  committee, 
in  order  to  the  rebuilding  of  a  meeting-house,  for  the  comfortable 

attending  the  public  worship  of  God,  and  that  Mr.  K ,  Mr.  W. 

Taylor,  Mr.  Middiecot,  and  Mr.  Anthony  Clieckley,  be  desired  to 
join  with  the  committee,  in  order  to  the  transacting  tiiis  affair.  It 
was  also  agreed,  that,  in  case  any  that  built  pews  in  the  meeting- 
house should   see  cause  afterwards  to  leave  them,  the  pews  should 


NOTES    TO    SERMON    XII.  Id7 

be  disposed  of,  not  by  them,  but   as  the  church  should  see  cause. 
And  that  no  petes  should  be  made  with  a  door  into  the  street." 

(5)  p.  157.  This  was  in  1682.  Whether  there  were  no  gallery 
before,  or  whether  this  were  an  additional  gallery,  is  not  absolutely 
certain.  The  records  of  the  church  only  say,  "  It  was  agreed  that 
a  gallery  should  be  built  for  the  boys  to  sit  in,  and  that  the  place 
where  they  at  present  sit  should  be  improved  for  pews."  The 
probability  is,  that  this  was  the  gallery,  which,  as  1  have  been  told, 
ran  along  behind  the  pulpit. 

(G)  p.  158.  The  first  was  Richard  Mather,  born  in  1596,  who,  hav- 
ing suffered  for  nonconformity,  came  to  New  England,  in  1635,  and 
was  ordained  pastor  of  the  church  in  Dorchester,  August  23,  1636. 
He  was  "a  distinguished  ornament  of  the  churches,"  very  useful  in 
the  several  synods  of  that  century,  an  able  writer  in  their  defence, 
and  a  solid,  judicious  preacher.  Mr.  Higginson,  of  Salem,  speaking 
of  his  reply  to  Mr.  Davenport,  said,  that  "  he  was  a  pattern  to  all 
the  answerers  in  the  world."  He  died  April  22,  166'J,  while  mod- 
erator of  a  council  in  Boston,  —  which  occasioned  the  following 
epitaph  :  Vixerat  in  sijnodis,  moritur  moderator  in  illis.  He  left 
four  sons  :  Samuel,  the  first,  was  mentioned  in  a  former  note.  The 
second,  Nathaniel,  born  in  England,  March  20,  1630,  and  graduated 
at  Harvard  College,  1647.  He  was  minister,  for  some  years,  in 
England,  and  being  ejected  among  the  two  thousand,  in  1662,  went 
to  Holland,  and  settled  at  Rotterdam  ;  succeeded  his  oldest  brother, 
at  Dublin,  in  1671  ;  afterward  took  charge  of  a  church  in  London  ; 
and  died  July,  1607,  aged  67.  "There  is  upon  his  tombstone  a 
loner  Latin  inscription  by  Dr.  Watts,  which  ascribes  to  him  a  high 
character  for  genius,  learning,  piety,  and  ministerial  fidelity."  The 
tliird  son,  Eleazar,  was  born  May  13,  1637,  and  graduated  at  Har- 
vard College,  in  1656  ;  was  ordained  first  minister  at  Northampton, 
in  1661  ;  and  died  July  24,  166!>,  aged  32.  He  appears  not  to  have 
been  inferior  to  either  of  his  brothers.  The  fourth  son  was  Increase, 
born  June  21,  163'.),  graduated  1656. 

(7)  p.  158.     Increase  Mather  began  to  preach  tlie  year  after  leaving 
college,  and,  upon  invitation  from  his  brother,  in  Dublin,  sailed   for 
England,  July  3,  1657.     He    proceeded   master  of  arts,   in  Trinity 
17* 


198  NOTES    TO    SERMON    Xll. 

College,  Dublin,  the  next  year,  "performing  the  usual  exercise 
with  great  applause,"  *  and  was  chosen  fellow  ;  but  not  being  able 
to  remain  on  account  of  ill  health,  went  to  England,  and  for  some 
time  preached  at  Torrington  ;  then  went  to  the  Island  of  Guernsey, 
as  preacher,  on  invitation  of  the  governor ;  from  thence,  at  the  solici- 
tation of  his  friends,  removed  to  Gloucester,  and  again,  after  some 
time,  returned  to  Guernsey,  where  he  was  at  the  time  of  the  resto- 
ration. It  was  then  required  that  he  should  conform  to  the  estab- 
lished church,  or  give  up  his  living,  and  he  accordingly  returned  to 
England.  Here  "  he  was  offered  a  living  of  several  hundreds  a  year, 
if  he  would  forsake  his  principles ;  but  he  chose  rather  to  trust 
God's  providence  than  violate  the  tranquillity  of  his  own  mind;  "  * 
and  therefore  he  returned  to  New  England,  after  an  absence  of  four 
years.  In  a  memorandum  now  before  me,  written  with  his  own 
hand,  he  says,  "Providence  so  ordered,  that,  the  bishops  and  cere- 
monies prevailing  in  England,  I  was  constrained  (that  so  I  might 
keep  my  conscience  pure)  to  leave  tliat  land ;  and  being  strangely 
disappointed  and  released,  as  to  an  engagement  I  was  under  to  go  for 
Holland,  I  was  returned  to  New  England  in  September,  1661." 
He  was,  the  next  week  after  his  arrival,  invited  to  preach  at  the 
North  Church,  and  continued  preaching  until  ordained.  May  27, 
1664.     His  father  gave  him  the  charge. 

I  have  said,  in  the  sermon,  that  his  settlement  was  conditional. 
The  conditions  were,  "  If  hereafter  the  Lord  should  call  me  to 
greater  service  elsewhere,  or  in  case  of  personal  persecutions, 
wherein  not  they,  but  I,  shall  be  aimed  at,  or  of  want  of  health,  or 
if  I  should  find  that  a  competent  maintenance  for  me  and  mine 
should  not  be  offered,  —  then  (my  relation  to  them  notwithstanding) 
I  would  be  at  liberty  to  return  to  England,  or  to  remove  elsewhere." 
From  tiie  account  of  his  son  in  the  Remarkables,  it  seems  that  he 
was  far  from  having  a  comfortable  mainteniftice  during  many  years, 
and  was  even  distressed  witli  poverty. 

(8)  p.  159.  This  is  according  to  the  representation  of  Hutchinson 
and  others.  The  following  minutes  in  the  church  records  would 
aeem  to  give  a  little  different  complexion  to  the  affair:  — 

"  October  30,  1687.  After  the  sermon  and  service  of  the  after- 
noon ended,  I  desired  the  brethren  of  the   church  to  stay  in  the 

*  Nonconforraist's  Memorial,  ii.  246,  24C. 


NOTES    TO    SERMON    XII.  199 

metituag-houBC,  and  proposed  to  them,  that  their  o&cers  might,  in 
thi'ir  name,  draw  up  an  address  of  tJianks  to  the  king  for  his  decla- 
ration, wherein  he  does  promise  us  the  free  exercise  of  our  religion, 
and  that  he  will  maintain  us  in  the  enjoyment  of  our  rights  and  pos- 
sessions. I  told  the  bretliren  I  would  take  their  silence  for  coa- 
eent.     All  were  silent.     Nemine  contradicente. 

"December  11,  1G87.  I  desired  the  brethren  to  stay,  and  ac- 
quainted them  that  it  was  thought  needful  that  some  one  should  be 
sent  with  an  address  of  thanks  to  the  king,  for  his  gracious  decla- 
ration ;  and  that  it  had  been  proposed  to  nie  that  I  should  go  on  the 
service.  I  told  them,  if  they  said  to  me,  go,  I  would  cast  myself 
on  the  providence  of  God,  and  go  in  his  name  ;  but  if  they  said  to 
me,  stay,  I  would  not  stir. 

"  Major  Kichards  and Way  declared  their  willingness  and 

free  consent  tliat  I  should  go.  I  said  to  the  brethren,  if  any  of 
them  were  otherwise  minded,  I  desired  they  would  express  them- 
selves. Also,  I  would  take  their  silence  for  consent.  They  were, 
then,  all  silent,  and  so  did  unanimously  consent." 

The  account  in  the  Remarliuhlcs  agrees  with  this:  "The  supe- 
rior gentlemen  thought  that  a  well-qualified  person,  going  over  with 
the  addresses  of  the  churches  to  the  king,  miglit  obtain  some  relief 
to  the  growing  distresses  of  the  country."  The  voting  of  addresses 
was  strenuously  opposed  by  many,  who  thought  they  discovered 
Fopery  at  the  bottom.  Hutchinson  quotes  a  letter  from  President 
Danforth  to  Mather,  dated  November  8  of  this  year,  in  which  he 
expresses  his  apprehensions  very  strongly. 

(9)  p.  160.  He  was  twice  chosen  president  of  the  college  ;  first  in 
1681,  when  he  declined  the  office,  because  his  church  refused  to 
part  vvitii  him  ;  and  again  in  1684,  when  he  accepted  it  on  the  con- 
dition of  still  retaining  his  relation  to  his  church.  He  relinquished 
the  place  in  September,  1701,  on  account  of  an  act  of  the  General 
Court,  requiring  the  president  to  live  at  Cambridge.  In  the  Re- 
markables  of  his  life,  it  is  intimated  that  this  vote  was  aimed  against 
him,  personally,  and  was  a  measure  which  his  enemies  carried  for 
the  very  purpose  of  removing  him.  Dr.  Eliot,  in  his  Biographical 
Dictionary,  attributes  his  resignation  to  the  pressure  of  age  and 
infirmities.  I  find  only  the  following  vote  of  his  church  on  this 
subject :  — 


200 


NOTES    TO    SERMON    Xll. 


"The  brethren  of  the  church,  being  assembled,  at  the  desire  of 
the  governor  and  the  General  Assembly,  and  messengers  from  both 
houses  in  the  General  Assembly  coming  to  them  with  a  motion  that 
they  would  consent  unto  the  removal  of  their  teacher's  residence  to 
the  college  in  Cambridge,  —  the  ensuing  vote  was  passed:  Being 
under  the  sense  of  the  great  benefit  we  have  long  enjoyed,  by  the 
labor  of  our  reverend  pastor,  Mr.  Increase  Mather,  among  us,  it 
must  needs  be  unreasonable  and  impossible  for  us  to  consent  that 
his  relation  to  us,  and  our  enjoyment  of  him  and  them,  should  cease. 

"  Nevertheless,  the  respect  we  have  to  the  desire  and  welfare  of 
the  public  does  compel  us  to  consent  that  our  good  pastor  may  so 
remove  his  personal  residence  to  the  college  at  Cambridge,  as  may 
be  consistent  with  the  continuance  of  his  relation  to  us,  and  his 
visits  of  us  with  his  public  administrations,  as  often  as  his  health 
and  strength  may  allow  it." 

(10)  p.  161.  The  expressions  quoted  in  this  place  are  from  his 
Election  Sermon,  1677.  Sentiments  and  passages  of  a  similar  char- 
acter may  be  found  in  his  two  sermons  on  the  Comets,  1680  and 
1682,  in  his  volume  of  sermons  on  Providence,  1688,  and  in  his 
series  of  discourses  on  the  Beatitudes,  1717. 

When  I  made  this  reference,  I  intended  to  quote  here  a  few  re- 
markable passages  of  some  length ;  but  my  Notes  are  swelling  to 
such  a  size,  that  1  am  forced  to  omit  them. 

(11)  p.  162.  It  was  not  till  after  the  sermons  were  in  the  press, 
that  1  was  al)le  to  procure  the  Rcmarkahles,  or  I  should  have  modi- 
fied the  statement  in  this  paragraph.  In  the  thirteenth  article  of 
that  book,  we  have  an  account  of  his  change  of  sentiments  on  the 
subject  of  toleration  ;  by  which  it  appears  that  the  expressions  I 
have  quoted  represent  him  only  as  he  was  in  the  earlier  part  of  his 
life.  This  article  is  by  far  the  best  and  most  eloquently  written 
passage  which  1  have  met  with  in  all  Cotton  Mather's  works. 
Probably  much  of  the  illustration,  and  even  the  language,  is  taken 
from  his  father. 

(12)  p.  163.  The  treatise  here  referred  to  was  published  in  1683, 
and  gives  "an  historical  account  of  all  the  comets  which  have 
appeared  from  the   beginning  of  the    world,"   together  with  "the 


NOTtS    TO    SEEMON    XII.  80Jl 

remarkable  events  which  liave  followed  them,"  and,  as  he  supposed, 
were  predicted  by  tliem.  It  is  a  work  of  considerable  labor,  show- 
ing an  extensive  acquaintance  with  history,  and  written  in  a  very 
good  style.  The  credulity  of  the  age  peeps  out  in  some  curious 
stories,  wiiich  I  intended  to  copy  when  I  referred  to  this  place,  but 
am  compelled  to  omit  for  want  of  room. 

(13)  p.  169.  "1697,  4d.  Gra.  [August.]  This  day  the  church 
voted  a  letter  of  admonition  to  the  church  in  Charlestown,  for  be- 
traying the  liberties  of  the  churches  in  their  late  putting  into  the 
hands  of  the  whole  inhabitants  the  choice  of  a  minister." 

I  have  noticed  this  vote  particularly,  because  it  is  sometimes  at- 
tempted to  make  us  believe  that  the  choice  of  ministers  by  the 
people,  instead  of  tlie  church,  is  a  modern  innovation,  opi)Osed  to 
the  uniform  usage  in  times  past.  Here  is  an  example  to  the  con- 
trary, of  as  long  ago  as  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  3'ears  ;  and 
the  example  and  opinion  of  the  church  in  Charlestown  are  as  valu- 
able in  settling  the  question  of  usage,  as  those  of  any  other  church. 
It  satisfies  us  that  usage  is  not  invariable,  and  that  the  principle,  so 
far  from  being  settled,  was  actually  contested  from  the  first.  Ac- 
cordingly, Cotton  Mather  acknowledges,  "  Many  people  would  not 
allow  the  church  any  privilege  to  go  before  tliem  in  the  choice  of  a 
pastor."  —  Ratio  Discipline:,  p.  16.  —  And  from  the  following  passage, 
(^Rat.  Disc.  p.  17,)  it  is  evident  that  the  congregation  had  not  only,  in 
some  instances,  claimed  and  exercised  the  right  against  the  church, 
but  that  the  church  had  often  found  it  necessary,  in  order  to  pre- 
serve the  appearance  of  a  control,  which  they  lelt  they  could  not 
exercise,  to  resort  to  so  numerous  a  nomination,  as  to  leave  none  for 
the  people  to  choose  whom  they  had  not  chosen.  "The  churches 
do  sometimes,  by  their  vote,  make  a  nomination  of  three  or  four 
candidates,  for  whom  the  majority  of  the  bretliren  have  so  voted, 
that  whomsoever  of  these  the  choice  falls  upon,  it  may  still  be  said, 
the  church  has  chosen  him."  So  that,  even  at  that  lime,  the  prin- 
ciple was  so  far  acknowledged  unsound,  as  to  be  satisfied  with  a 
mere  form  and  show. 

(14)  p.  171.  Cotton  Mather  was  invited  to  assist  his  father  in 
preaching  once  a  fortnight,  September  27,  1680,  (having  been  grad- 
uated two  years.)     The  following  February,  he    was   requested   to 


202  NOTES    TO    SERMON    XII. 

do  it  "  once  every  Lord's  day."  In  December,  1682,  the  church 
expressed  their  great  satisfaction,  and  desired  that  his  labors  might 
still  be  continued,  with  a  view  to  his  settlement.  In  January,  1683, 
they  gave  him  a  unanimous  call,  and  another  impatient  one  in 
August,  1684.  There  is  an  error  in  the  sermon  respecting  the 
date  of  the  ordination.  It  was  in  1685,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  church  records :  — 

"2d  month,  [April,]  5th  day,  1685.  The  brethren  staid  in  the 
meeting-house,  and  unanimously  consented  that  the  13th  day  of 
May  should  be  the  day  for  my  son  Cotton's  ordination  as  their  pas- 
tor ;  and  that  letters  should  be  sent  to  the  two  churches  in  Boston, 
to  Charlestown,  Cambridge,  Roxbury,  Dorchester,  to  desire  them  to 
send  their  messengers  to  give  us  the  right  hand  of  fellowship ;  that 
Mr.  Allen  and  Mr.  Willard  should  be  desired  to  join  with  myself  in 
imposing  hands." 

(15)  p.  173.  The  ministry  of  the  two  Mathers  continued  during 
sixty-four  years,  besides  nearly  three  years  that  passed  before  the 
ordination  of  Increase.  The  record  of  church  members  during  this 
period  is  very  careful  and  complete,  there  being  no  less  than  three 
separate  catalogues.  The  whole  number  is  eleven  hundred  and 
four.  The  record  of  baptisms  is  complete  only  after  the  year  1689, 
from  which  time  to  1726,  (thirty-nine  years,)  the  whole  number  re- 
corded is  three  thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty-four. 

The  first  instance  of  any  one  being  received  to  baptism  by  the 
half-way  covenant,  as  it  is  called,  appears  to  have  been  January  15, 
1693,  when  I  find  the  following  minute  :  "  Received  into  cove- 
nant Mary  Sunderland  ;  and  her  son  John  baptized.  They  being 
the  first  so  admitted,  in  pursuance  of  the  church's  addresses  unto 
me  for  that  purpose  and  practice."  The  half-way  covenant  has 
been  laid  aside  since  April,  1786. 

Collections  for  charitable  and  religious  purposes  were  frequent 
dnrinf  this  period,  and  I  have  been  surprised  at  the  amount  of  them. 
£62  for  redeeming  captives  from  the  Indians  ;  Jt53  for  redeeming 
two  persons  from  Turkish  captivity  ;  £80  for  relieving  three  young 
men  from  the  same  ;  £AA  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  inhabitants  of 
frontier  towns  in  the  east ;  £53  at  fast  for  the  poor  ;  and  £60  the 
same  year,  at  thanksgiving,  for  propagation  of  the  gospel  ;  and  in 
1726,  a  large  contribution  was  distributed,  partly  for  the  support  of 


NOTliS    TO    SERMON    XII.  203 

the  niinistry  in  destitute  places,  and  partly  for  the  distribution  of 
Bibles  and  other  pious  books.  The  church  had  an  "  Eran^rlical 
Treasury,"  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  religious  objects,  and  dis- 
tributing Bibles,  from  which  considerable  sums  were  frequently  ap- 
propriated.    Tliis  was  not  very  different  from  a  Bible  society. 

It  may  gratify  some  to  see,  in  this  connection,  a  copy  of  a  mem- 
orandum, which  I.  found  amongst  Deacon  Tudor's  papers,  of  the 
collections  in  the  different  churches  "for  the  sufferers  in  the  great 
fire,  March  20,  1760,  on  and  round  Oliver's  Dock,  part  of  King 
Street,  &c."  It  may  serve  as  another  link  between  the  charity  of 
Boston,  at  the  present  day,  and  the  year  169d,  when  C.  Mather  said, 
m  a  sermon,  "  For  rhtirltij,  —  !  may,  indeed,  speak  it  without  flat- 
tery, —  this  town  has  not  many  equals  on  the  face  of  the  earth." 

Brattle  Street,  £3407;  Old  South,  1860;  King's  Chapel,  060; 
West  Church,  'JO'2 ;  First  Church,  1050  ;  New  Brick,  445;  Old 
North,  418;  New  North,  1467;  Mr.  Mather's,  140;  Federal  Street, 
209;  Mr.  Cundy's,  188;  Mr.  Bound's,  145. 

(16)  p.  173.  The  pamphlet  published  by  the  Convention  was 
entitled  "  The  Testimony  of  the  Pastors  of  the  Churches  in  the 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England,  at  their  an- 
nual Convention  in  Boston,  May  25,  1743,  against  several  Errors  in 
Doctrine,  and  Disorders  in  Practice,  which  have  of  late  obtained  in 
various  Parts  of  the  Land,  &c."  Mr.  Gee  published  "  A  Letter  to 
the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Eells,  Moderator  of  the  late  Convention,  &c., 
containing  some  Remarks  on  their  printed  Testimony."  In  this  he 
complains  that  the  title  of  the  pamphlet  was  calculated  to  mislead  ; 
that  the  pamphlet  itself  was  adapted  to  give  false  impressions  abroad 
and  at  home  of  the  state  of  the  churches  ;  tliat,  owing  to  the  thin- 
ness of  the  Convention,  the  real  opinion  of  the  ministers  of  the 
province  was  not  represented  ;  and  that  no  testimony  was  suffered 
to  be  brought  forward  in  favor  of  the  revivals  in  the  land  ;  and,  in 
order  to  attain  these  objects,  he  publishes  the  design  of  another 
meeting  of  ministers,  to  be  held  the  day  after  Commencement, 
[July  7.]  The  result  of  this  meeting  was  "The  Testimony  and 
Advice  of  an  Assembly  of  Pastors  of  Churches  in  New  England, 
&c.,y  which,  at  the  same  time  that  it  spoke  favorably  of  the  great 
religious  work,  acknowledged  that  it  was  accompanied  with  evils 
and  dangers,  and  warned  against  them.     It  was  signed  by  fifty-three 


NOTES   TO    SERMON    XII. 

ministers,  and  by  fifteen  others,  who  added  a  stronger  protest 
against  itinerancy,  and  the  intruding  into  parishes  without  consent 
of  their  ministers.  Besides  these,  separate  testimonies  to  about  the 
same  purport,  from  absent  ministers,  were  added  in  an  appendix, 
and  increased  the  whole  number  of  names  to  one  hundred  and 
eleven. 

Gee's  attack  upon  the  Convention  was  answered  very  satisfac 
torily  by  Mr.  Prescott  of  Salem,  and  Mr.  Hancock  of  Braintree, 
who  make  it  evident  that  he  wrote  in  great  hastiness  of  temper,  and 
under  the  influence  of  what  he  regarded  a  personal  affront.  They 
prove  several  of  his  statements  to  be  incorrect,  and  completely  de- 
fend the  doings  of  the  Convention.  Dr.  Chauncy,  who  had  been 
personally  assailed  by  Mr.  Gee,  defended  himself  in  a  letter  pub- 
lished in  the  Boston  Evening  Post,  of  June  24th,  and  Mr.  Gee, 
according  to  Mr.  Hancock,  retracted. 

Another  meeting  of  the  "  Assembly  "  was  held  in  September, 
1745,  when  a  further  defence  was  attempted  of  the  religious  excite- 
ments of  the  country.  This  second  "  Testimony  "  was  signed  by 
Prince,  Webb,  and  Gee,  of  Boston,  and  twenty-one  others. 

There  were  also  published,  in  this  feverish  season,  two  "  Testi- 
monies "  of  laymen  against  the  prevalent  evils  of  the  churches. 

(17)  p.  174.  Mr.  Gee's  parents  were  members  of  this  church,  to 
which  they  were  admitted  by  dismission  from  the  old  church,  May  2, 
1697.  He  was  himself  admitted  to  the  church.  May  13,  1716;  was 
graduated  at  Harvard  College,  1717  ;  called  by  the  church,  October 
22,  1723;  ordained  December  18.  [He  had  been  a  candidate  at  the 
New  Brick,  with  Mr.  Waldron,  in  1721,  and  had  a  call  to  settle  in 
Portsmouth  in  1723.]  The  council  consisted  of  "  the  six  churches 
of  the  united  brethren,  in  this  town,  and  the  church  in  Roxbury." 
C.  Mather  gave  the  charge.  On  the  llHh  day  of  the  next  February, 
I  find  tlie  following  record  of  C.  Mather  :  "  The  first  baptism  ad- 
ministered by  Mr.  Gee  ;  and,  indeed,  the  first  that  has  been  admin- 
istered bj'  any  hands  but  those  of  Mather,  (father  and  son,)  in  the 
Old  North  Church,  for  more  than  half  a  hundred  years  together." 

It  would  seem,  from  the  records  of  the  church,  that  Mr.  Gee  wns 
a  great  promoter  of  prayer  meetings  for  the  revival  of  religion, 
which  were  frequently  held  during  his  ministry.  The  church  is 
also  indebted  to  iiiin  for  the  establishment  of  a  library,  for  the  U8c 


NOTES    TO    SEHMON    XII.  20ft 

of  its  pastors,  to  wliich  he  made  large  donations  of  valuable  books. 
The  church  originally  exercised  a  constant  superintendence  over  its 
concerns  by  a  committee,  and  provided,  occasionally,  for  its  in- 
crease. For  a  long  time,  however,  this  has  been  neglected,  and 
many  of  the  books  have  been  lost.  There  are  now  about  a  hundred 
volumes,  principally  old  folios,  and  many  of  them  very  valuable. 

It  was  during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Gee,  in  1733,  that  the  cele- 
brated difficulties  in  the  first  church  in  Salem  occurred,  which 
occasioned  its  exclusion,  for  some  time,  from  the  communion  of 
many  of  the  churches  of  the  state.  The  Old  North  Church,  aa 
appears  from  the  records,  which  are  full  and  minute  upon  this  sub- 
ject, took  an  active  and  leading  part  in  this  work  of  incjuiry  and 
discipline.  After  writing  to  and  visiting  the  church  and  minister  in 
Salem,  it  summoned  an  ecclesiastical  council  to  proceed  in  the 
business,  and  "join  with  us  in  taking  the  second  step  of  the  third 
way  of  communion,  wherein  we  have  been  visiting  the  first  church 
of  Christ  in  Salem."  The  minister  and  church  refused  to  be  dis- 
ciplined, and  were,  in  consequence,  shut  out  from  Christian  fellow- 
ship for  many  years.  It  is  not  until  October,  1745,  that  I  find  a 
letter  of  penitent  acknowledgment,  entreating  to  be  restored  to 
communion,  was  received  and  acted  upon  by  the  Old  North  Church, 
who  took  off  the  sentence  of  non-communion,  with  the  express 
exception  of  the  late  niinister. 

(18)  p.  17-1.  Mr.  Mather  was  chosen  Jaifuary  28,  1732,  by  sixty- 
nine  votes  out  of  one  hundred  and  twelve.  The  council  at  his  or- 
dination was  composed  of  the  churches  of  Boston,  Roxbury,  Charles- 
town,  and  Cambridge.     Dr.  Colman  gave  the  charge. 

Tlie  number  of  the  church  that  withdrew  with  him  were  thirty 
men  and  sixty-three  women  ;  the  number  that  remained  were  eighty 
men  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-three  women.  The  date  of  their 
dismission  is  December  21,  1741.  The  house  which  they  built  [at 
the  corner  of  North  Bennct  Street]  is  now  occupied  by  a  society 
of  Universalists. 

(19)  p.  175.  Mr.  Checkley  wag  ordained  September  3,  1747. 
The  churches  invited  to  the  council  were,  the  First  Church,  the 
New  South,  the  Old  South,  Brattle  Street,  New  North,  New  Brick, 
and  the  church  in  Charlestown.     The  church   in  Hollis  Street  was 

18 


206  NOTES    TO    SERMON    XII. 

afterward  added.     Mr.  Gee  being  at  this  time  confined  by  sickness, 
the  father  of  the  candidate  was  requested  to  give  the  charge. 

The  conjunction  of  church  and  society  in  the  management  of 
their  temporal  concerns  first  took  place  in  May,  1760 ;  at  which 
time,  it  was' agreed,  that  tlie  committee,  chosen  annually  on  the 
first  Tuesday  of  May,  should  consist  of  the  deacons,  together  with 
five  members  of  the  church,  and  four  of  the  congregation. 

(20)  p.  175.  The  preliminary  steps  to  the  choice  of  Dr.  Lathrop 
were  taken  by  the  church  and  society  March  10,  1768.  It  was  in- 
tended to  ordain  him  as  colleague  to  Mr.  Checkley,  who  had  been  for 
a  long  time  dangerously  ill,  and  died  on  the  19th  day  of  the  same 
month.  The  election  was  made  by  a  unanimous  vote,  both  of 
church  and  congregation  ;  the  number  of  the  former  being  twenty- 
five,  and  of  the  latter  sixty-seven.  The  ordination  took  place  May 
18,  1768.  The  council  was  composed  of  the  churches  of  Norwich 
and  Lebanon,  Connecticut ;  the  Old  South,  the  New  Brick,  the 
New  North,  and  the  churches  in  Mollis  Street  and  Brattle  Street. 
Dr.  Sewall  was  moderator.  Dr.  Eliot  introduced  the  service  with 
prayer ;  the  pastor  elect  preached  from  Philip,  i.  17,  —  Knowing 
that  I  am  set  for  the  defence  of  the  gospel ;  Dr.  Pemberton  prayed 
and  gave  the  charge  ;  Dr.  Sewall  then  prayed  ;  and  Mr.  Byles  gave 
the  right  hand  of  fellowship. 

The  practice  of  reading  the  lines  of  the  psalms  separately  was 
abolished  May  26,  1771. 

In  January,  1773,  a  monthly  church  meeting  was  established  for 
encouragement  and  assistance  in  matters  of  religion. 

April  16,  1786.  After  several  meetings,  the  church  renewed  their 
covenant  engagements,  with  a  new  "  declaration  of  faith,  and  form 
of  confederacy-"  At  the  same  time,  a  system  of  discipline  and 
order  in  regard  to  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper  was  drawn  up  and 
established.  The  chief  design  of  this  was,  to  remove  the  obstacles 
which  prevented  the  access  of  Christians  to  the  table,  to  abolish  the 
half-way  covenant,  and  provide  for  the  baptism  of  the  children  of 
every  baptized  parent,  receiving  no  public  confession  of  faith,  except 
from  those  who  design  to  keep  all  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord.  Up- 
on this  system  the  church  has  ever  since  acted. 


NOTES    TO    SERMON    XIII, 


(1)  p.  178.  I  BELIEVE  that  I  have  fairly  stated  the  controversy  at 
this  time,  which  has  not,  even  yet,  lost  all  its  interest.  Some  small 
circumstances  I  have  gathered  from  tradition,  but  principally  from 
the  pamphlets  published  on  this  occasion,  which  I  found  in  the  Bos- 
ton Athcnroum, —  to  which  copious  repository  of  choice  and  rare 
publications  relating  to  the  history  of  this  country  I  am  under  many 
obligations.  The  first  is,  "  An  Account  of  the  Reasons  why  a  con- 
siderable Number,  (about  fifty,  whereof  ten  are  Members  in  full  Com- 
munion,) belonging  to  the  New  North  Church,  in  Boston,  could  not 
consent  to  Mr.  Peter  Thacher"s  Ordination."  It  has  this  motto  : 
"  Ministers  shall  not  be  vagrants,  nor  intrude  themselves  of  their 
own  authority  into  any  place  which  best  pleaseth  them."  It  is  a 
pamphlet  of  sixty  pages,  being  a  collection  of  documents  interwoven 
with  an  angry  history  of  the  whole  matter.  In  reply,  there  is  "  A 
Vindication  of  the  New  North  Church  from  several  Falsehoods 
spread  in  a  Pamphlet  lately  published,  &c. ;  by  several  Members 
of  that  Church  ;  "  to  which  are  added  two  postcripts,  by  Mr.  Webb 
and  Mr.  Thachcr.  Then  was  advertised,  but  I  do  not  know  whether 
it  was  published,  "  An  Answer  to  a  scandalous  and  lying  Pamphlet, 
intituled  A  Vindication,  «fcc."  The  New  North  people  wrote  with 
most  moderation,  though  they  were  clearly  in  the  wrong  ;  while  the 
advocates  of  the  New  Brick,  though  on  the  right  side,  lost  all  com- 
mand of  their  temper,  and  wrote  with  great  heat  and  passion. 

Tiiere  was  also  published  "  A  brief  Declaration  of  Mr.  P.  Tliach- 
er  and  Mr.  J.  Webb,  in  Behalf  of  themselves  and  their  Church." 
This  was  in  reply  to  a  pamphlet  of  Increase  Mather,  entitled  "  A 
Testimony  to  the  good  Order  of  the  Churches;  "  blaming  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  New  North  as  anti-Congregational,  and  threatening 
them  with  ecclesiastical  discipline  and  censure.     Webb  and  Thach- 


208  NOTES    TO    SERMON    XIII. 

er  declared  their  intention  to  conduct  regularly,  according  to  Con- 
gregational discipline,  and  defended  their  doings  as  such. 

The  two  Mathers  sent  a  letter  to  the  dissatisfied  party  the  day  pre- 
ceding the  ordination,  earnestly  entreating  them  to  be  quiet,  and  do 
nothing  disorderly.     It  appears  to  have  had  no  effect. 

"  July  in,  1722.  It  was  agreed  upon,  and  voted,  that  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  Supper  should  be  administered  in  the  revolution 
of  every  fourth  Sabbath,  from  August  12,  1722." 

(2)  p.  178.  The  names  of  those  gathered  into  a  church  state,  at 
this  time,  were,  Alexander  Sears,  Solomon  Townsend,  William 
Lee,  Nathaniel  Loring,  Moses  Pierse,  Daniel  Pecker,  Josiah  Baker, 
Henry  Wheeler,  John  Waldo,  James  Tilestone.  S.  Townsend  and 
W.  Lee  were  chosen  the  first  deacons. 

The  original  covenant  is  not  a  profession  of  faith,  except  so  far 
as  a  belief  in  the  Christian  religion,  and  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Trin- 
ity, is  asserted  ;  but  is  rather  an  engagement  to  walk  strictly  in  the 
commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  gospel.  It  being  the  custom 
of  many  churclies,  at  that  time,  to  require  a  relation  of  the  religious 
experiences  of  those  who  offered  themselves  for  admission,  a  vote 
was  passed,  (August  9,  1722,)  "  that  we  would  receive  them  with, 
and  encourage  their  making  of  relations  according  to  the  usage  of 
many  of  our  New  England  churches  ;  but  will  not  impose  them  on 
such  as  we  shall  find  averse  to  them.  But,  upon  having  our  charity 
satisfied  any  other  way,  we  will  look  upon  them  meet  for  our  fel- 
lowship, and  admit  tliein  to  it." 

The  persons  who  commenced  the  building  were  in  number  twen- 
ty-four, whose  names  are  recorded  in  the  proprietors'  books.  The 
number  increased  to  forty  before  the  work  was  completed.  The 
building  committee  (chosen  December  12,  1720)  consisted  of  John 
Frisel,  Thomas  Lee,  Jonathan  Montfort,  Alexander  Sears,  James 
Tileston,  James  Pecker,  and  Edward  Pell.  This  last-named  gen- 
tleman drew  the  plan  of  the  house.  The  choice  of  pews  was  made 
May  8, 1721,  the  first  choice  being  given  to  John  Frisel  and  William 
Clark,  "  for  their  good- will  and  great  benefactions  to  said  work  ;  " 
then  to  the  building  committee  ;  and  then  to  the  other  proprietors, 
in  an  order  determined  by  lot. 

At  the  dedication.  Dr.  Increase  Mather  was  first  desired  to  preach 
but  excused  himself  on  account  of  his  great  age.     He  commenced 


NOTES    TO    SERMON    Xllt.  209 

the  morning  service  with  prayer,  wliich  was  closed  with  prayer  by 
Mr.  Cooper.  The  afternoon  service  commenced  with  prayer  by 
Dr.  Cohnan,  and  was  closed  by  Mr.  Prince. 

A  timepiece  was  presented  to  the  church,  by  Mr.  Barret  Dyre, 
in  June  of  this  year.  It  kept  its  place  in  the  meeting-house  until 
1820,  when  it  was  removed,  and  its  place  supplied  with  a  new  one, 
at  the  expense  of  Samuel  Parkman,  Esq. 

There  was  no  cellar  under  the  house  until  the  year  1762.  It  was 
completed  at  the  cost  of  a  thousand  pounds,  and,  after  some  ditiicul- 
ties,  paid  for  by  subscription. 

In  front  of  the  pulpit  were  originally  two  pews,  the  one  for  the 
elders'  seat,  the  other  for  the  deacons'  seat.  They  were  thrown  into 
one  in  1766,  "as  has  been  lately  aone  at  the  Old  North,  and  at  Mr. 
Cooper's,"  (Brattle  Street.) 

A  second  gallery  was  originally  built  only  at  the  west  end,  and 
never,  I  believe,  on  either  of  the  other  sides.  This  was  closed  up 
and  converted  into  a  hall  for  a  singing-school,  and  other  purposes, 
in  1808.  A  vote  passed  in  January,  1751,  "  to  build  an  upper  gal- 
lery for  the  women  at  the  east  end  of  the  meeting-liouse,  if  the 
money  can  be  raised  by  subscription."  This,  however,  was  not 
accomplished.  There  was  no  access  to  the  gallery,  originally,  ex- 
cept by  stairs  within  the  meeting-house,  of  which  there  were  three 
flights  ;  at  the  north-west,  south-west,  and  south-east  corners.     The 

stairs  in  the  north-west  corner  were  removed  in .     The  south 

porch  was  so  altered  as  to  contain  stairs  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  singers  in  1801.  In  1821,  it  was  taken  down,  rebuilt  of  a  larnrer 
size,  so  as  to  contain  stairs  of  an  easy  access,  and  those  which  re- 
mained in  the  soutii-east  and  south-west  corners  were  removed.  At 
the  same  time,  all  the  remaining  square  pews  were  taken  down,  and 
long  pews  erected  in  their  room. 

The  first  bell  was  hung  in  1743,  and  the  same  year  the  meeting- 
house was  for  the  first  time  painted.  This  bell  was  removed  and 
sold  in  1780,  and  the  bell  of  the  Old  North,  which  was  larger,  was 
hung  in  its  place.  It  M-as  injured  in  ]7!)2,  and  forbidden  to  be 
rung,  except  in  case  of  fire,  till  it  was  recast  in  the  same  year,  and 
was  the  first  bell  from  the  foundry  of  the  late  Paul  Revere,  Esq., 
which  appears  by  the  following  inscription  upon  it  :  "  The  first 
church  bell  cast  in  Boston,  1702,  by  P.  Revere  " 
18* 


210  NOTES    TO    SERMON    XIIl. 

(3)  p.  178.  Mr.  Waldron  was  chosen  minister  September  26, 
1721,  by  a  vote  of  the  proprietors,  fifty  out  of  sixty-three.  The 
other  votes  were  for  Mr.  Gee.  At  his  ordination,  Mr.  Sewall  com- 
menced with  prayer ;  Dr.  Cotton  Mather  preached  from  1  John  iv.  7 ; 
Dr.  Increase  Mather  gave  the  charge;  Mr.  Wadsworth  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship;  and  Mr.  Waldron  closed  with  prayer. 

"  August  23,  1725.  Voted,  that  Mr.  Waldron  be  supplied  with 
constant  help  for  six  months  ensuing  from  this  day."  A  vote  of 
this  nature  was  frequently  passed  in  both  churches,  while  there  was 
but  one  minister ;  it  being  thought  that  the  strength  of  one  was  in- 
adequate to  the  whole  duty. 

Mr.  Waldron  died  September  11,  1727. 

(4)  p.  180.  January  16,  1727.  Mr.  Welsteed  was  chosen  by  a 
vote  of  fifty-four  out  of  sixty-four.  At  his  ordination,  Mr.  Sewall 
and  Mr.  Cooper  prayed  ;  Dr.  Colman  gave  the  charge  ;  and  Mr. 
Walter  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  "  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the 
church  after  this  ordination  was,  to  reconsider  and  renew  the  vote 
about  relations,  passed  August  D,  1722.     A  truly  Christian  act." 

The  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  as  part  of  the  public  service,  com- 
menced in  1729,  as  appears  by  a  vote  of  April  14, — "That  the 
Bible  Captain  Henry  Deering  has  made  an  offer  of  to  the  church, 
in  order  for  Mr.  Welsteed's  reading  and  expounding,  be  accepted." 

December  22,  1736.  Mr.  William  Hooper  received  a  unanimous 
call  to  settle  as  colleague  with  Mr.  Welsteed.  He,  however,  on  the 
3d  day  of  the  next  month,  received  a  unanimous  call  from  the  West 
Church,  on  that  day  gathered,  over  which  he  was  ordained.  May 
18,  1737.  He  afterward  received  Episcopal  ordination,  and  was 
rector  of  Trinity  Church. 

In  January,  1731,  fifty  pounds  were  collected  at  a  contribution  for 
the  relief  of  the  inhabitants  of  Marblchead,  distressed  by  the  small- 
pox. 

Mr.  Gray  was  elected  by  a  unanimous  vote,  April  3,  1738.  The 
council  at  the  ordination  consisted  of  "  the  united  churches  in 
Boston,  the  churches  of  Runmy  Marsh,  (Chelsea,)  Roxbury,  Cam- 
bridge, and  Charlcstown."  The  pastor  elect  preached  from  Isalih 
vi.  5 — 8  ;  Mr.  Welsteed  and  Mr.  Webb  prayed  ;  Dr.  Colman  gave 
the  charge;  and  Dr.  Sewall  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.     The  part 


NOTES    TO    SERMON    XIII.  211 

t&ken  by  Mr.  Webb  is, the  earliest  notice  we  have  of  a  reconciliation 
with  tlie  New  North  Church. 

"August  22,  1739.  Unanimously  voted,  to  desire  Mr.  James 
Halsy  to  take  his  proper  place  in  the  eider's  seat, 

"  Voted,  to  leave  tlie  affair  of  making  a  stairway  In  the  western- 
most porcli  with  the  committee."     Tliis  was  never  done. 

(5)  p.  183.  Dr.  Pemberton  was  chosen,  December  31,  1753,  by  a 
vote  of  fifty-four  out  of  fifty-six,  two  persons  not  voting.  The  vote 
uf  tJie  ciiurch  was  unanimous.  He  had  resigned  his  charge  at  New 
York,  by  advice  of  the  synod,  on  the  18th  of  November,  and  was 
at  tiiat  time  in  correspondence  with  this  church,  who  had  expressed 
their  strong  desire  to  receive  him  as  their  minister.  Part  of  this 
correspondence  appears  on  the  pages  of  the  proprietors'  records  ;  as 
also  a  copy  of  the  doings  of  the  synod,  by  which  he  was  dismissed 
with  honor,  and  recommended  as  "  a  regular  minister,  of  an  exem- 
plary, pious  conversation  ;  who  has,  to  an  uncommon  degree,  main- 
tained the  dignity  of  the  ministerial  character;  eminently  endowed 
with  ministerial  abilities,  whose  labors  have  been  acceptable  and 
highly  esteemed  throughout  these  churches." 

The  council  at  the  installation,  March  6,  1754,  consisted  of  the 
First,  tlie  Old  South,  and  the  New  North  churches.  By  whom  the 
several  parts  wej-e  performed  I  cannot  learn.  No  entry  is  made 
Upon  the  church  book  of  records  during  Dr.  Pemberton's  ministry, 
except  the  names  of  a  few  baptized  and  admitted  to  communion. 
The  catalogue  of  church  members,  from  the  beginning,  is  exceed- 
ingly imperfect,  so  that  no  estimate  at  all  can  be  made  of  the 
number. 

It  was  during  his  ministry,  [August,  1757,]  that  taxes  were  first 
laid  for  the  support  of  the  gospel  in  this  society.  Dependence  had 
been  previously  had  upon  voluntary  contributions  collected  every 
Sunday  ;  but  this  mode  had  been  found  the  occasion  of  so  much 
confusion,  embarrassment,  and  debt,  that  it  was  now  abolished. 
For  many  years,  the  income  was  insufficient  to  pay  Dr.  Pember- 
ton's salary,  and  he  every  year  generously  relinquished  his  claim  to 
the  deficiency. 

"  October  7,  1762.  Voted,  that  the  singers  sound  the  base  at  the 
end  of  the  lines  whenever  they  think  proper."  I  copy  this  vote 
simply  because  I  do  not  know  what  it  means. 


212  NOTES   TO   SERMON    XIII. 

In  1763,  an  attempt  was  made  to  settle  a  colleague  with  Dr.  Pera- 
berton,  and  Mr.  Tennant  was  the  man  intended  for  the  place.  Cir- 
cumstances, however,  prevented  the  design  from  being  accom- 
plished. 

In  May,  1771,  the  First  Baptist  Church  requested  that  the  use  of 
the  New  Brick  meeting-house  might  be  allowed  them  for  worship, 
during  the  time  that  they  should  be  building ;  and  accordingly,  from 
June  23  to  December  8,  the  two  congregations  worshiped  together, 
their  ministers  preaching  alternately  the  half  of  each  Sabbath.  Dr. 
Stillman's  first  sermon  was  preached  from  Psalm  cxxxiii.  1,  and  his 
last  from  2  Corinthians  xiii.  11.  In  this  place,  also,  it  may  be  men- 
tioned, that  in  June,  1802,  when  the  New  North  society  were  about 
rebuilding  their  meeting-house,  an  invitation  was  given  them  to 
attend  worship  with  this  church,  and  the  two  congregations  united 
in  the  services  of  the  Sabbath  until  the  completion  of  the  new 
meeting-house,  in  May,  1804. 

(6)  p.  183.  The  British  troops,  during  the  blockade  of  Boston, 
treated  the  churches  with  particular  disrespect.  The  steeple  of  the 
West  Church  they  destroyed,  because  they  supposed  it  had  been 
used  as  a  signal-staff;  the  Old  South  tliey  turned  into  a  circus  or 
riding-school ;  the  Old  North  they  took  down  for  the  sake  of  the 
fuel,  of  which  its  massy  timber  atforded  abundance;  "although 
there  were  then  large  quantities  of  coal  and  wood  in  the  town. 
The  house,  which  was  built  in  1677,  was  in  very  good  repair,  and 
might  have  stood  many  years  longer,  had  not  those  sons  of  violence, 
with  wicked  hands,  razed  it  to  the  foundation."  —  Church  Records. 

The  two  societies  worshiped  together  from  the  31st  of  March, 
1776;  but  the  plan  of  perpetual  union  was  not  proposed  until  May 
6th,  1771).  On  that  day,  which  was  the  day  of  the  state  fast,  a  vote 
was  passed,  "  that  the  two  said  churches  should  be  united  as  one 
body,"  and  a  committee  was  appointed,  of  three  from  each  society, 
with  the  deacons,  to  take  the  necessary  measures  toward  accom- 
plishing the  nfi'air.  The  committee  on  tlie  part  of  the  Old  North 
were,  Samuel  Austin,  Colonel  Proctor,  and  Joseph  Kittel  ;  of  the 
New    Brick,   William    Paine,    Newman    Greenough,    and    Thomas 

Hichborn.      The  deacons  were  three  ;  John  Tudor, Brown,  and 

Greenougli.     The  committee  reported  on  the  27th  of  June,  and 

the  union  took  place  without  one  dissenting  voice,  in  the  most  am- 


NOTES   TO   SERMON   XIII.  31^ 

icable  manner,  and  under  the  ntjost  auspicious  circumstances.  Tlie 
wliole  proceedings  are  recorded  by  Deacon  Tudor,  witli  great 
minuteness. 

In  January,  1780,  Dr.  Lathrop's  salary  was  raised  from  one  hun- 
dred to  two  hundred  dollars  a  week  ;  in  May  to  four  hundred;  in 
September  to  eight  hundred.  In  December,  JC2000  were  raised  to 
purchase  his  winter's  wood. 

The  large  Bible,  which  was  used  in  the  Old  North  Church,  was 
presented  by  the  committee,  in  behalf  of  the  society,  to  the  Second 
Church  in  Newton,  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Greenough's  settlement 
there,  in  Ijftil. 

In  \~6l,  I  find  record  of  a  baptism,  by  immersion,  of  a  child  about 
ten  years  old,  at  the  particular  request  of  the  mother,  "  a  bathing- 
lub  being  prepared  for  th;it  purpose  in  the  meeting-house." 

(7)  p.  185.  On  this  occasion,  the  Rev.  President  Kirkland  in- 
troduced the  religious  service  with  prayer ;  Dr.  Ware  preached 
from  Phil.  iv.  17:  I  desire  fruit  that  may  abound  to  your  account; 
Rev.  Mr.  Fiske,  of  West  Cambridge,  made  the  ordaining  prayer; 
Dr.  Allyn,  of  Duxbury,  gave  the  charge ;  Rev.  Mr.  Parkman  pre- 
uented  the  right  hand  of  fellowship ;  Dr.  Holmes,  of  Cambridge, 
made  the  concluding  prayer. 

1  have  said  nothing  in  the  sermon  of  the  synods  in  which  In- 
crease Mather  was  engaged.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  from  Eng- 
land, in  IGGvJ,  till'  country  was  much  excited  and  divided  about  the 
result  i)f  the  synod  whieii  had  set  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  and 
which  had  published  certain  propositions  relating  to  church  mem- 
bership. The  firth  of  these,  which  provided,  that  the  children  of  all 
who  have  been  baptized  in  infancy,  and  are  not  scandalous  in  life, 
and  make  public  profession  of  faith,  are  entitled  to  baptism,  —  was 
the  occasion  of  warm  discussion.  Mr.  Mather,  thojigh  but  a  3'oung 
roan,  distinguished  himself  in  the  opposition  to  the  sj-nod,  who  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Mitchel,  of  Cambridge,  so  much  praised  by  Baxter,  to 
answer  him.  Mather  was  convinced  by  the  arguments  of  Mitchel, 
and  afterwards  published  in  defence  of  the  proposition  he  had  op- 
posed. The  other  writers  in  the  controversy  were  Dr.  Chauncy, 
president  of  the  college,  against  the  synod,  who  was  answered  b/ 


214  NOTES   TO   SERMON    XIII. 

Mr.  Allin,  of  Dedham ;  and  Mr.  Davenport  of  New  Haven,  who 
was  answered  by  Mr.  Mather  the  elder,  father  of  Increase. 

He  was  also  an  important  member  of  the  synod  of  1679,  by  which 
he  was  appointed  one  of  the  preachers,  and  moderator  at  its  second 
session,  in  1680.  This  was  the  Reforming  Synod,  called  together  to 
consider  "  What  are  the  evils  that  have  provoked  the  Lord  to  bring 
his  judgments  on  New  England  .'  and  what  is  to  be  done  that  so 
those  evils  may  be  reformed.'  "  Mr.  Emerson,  in  his  History  of 
the  First  Church,  informs  us,  that  this  was  occasioned  by  the  long- 
continued  controversy  between  the  First  and  Old  South  Churches, 
and  that  the  inquiry  was,  in  fact,  aimed  against  the  Old  South. 


SERMON    XIV* 


MEANS  OF  PROMOTING  THE  SPREAD   AND  GLORY 
OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

2  THESSALONIANS  III.   1. 

BRETHREN,  PRAY    FOR    US,  THAT    THE   WORD    OF  THE    LORD    MAY    HAVE 
FREE  COURSE,  AND  BE   GLORIFIED,  EVEN  AS  IT  IS  AMONG   YOU. 

The  design  for  which  the  public  institutions  of  our  re- 
ligion are  maintained,  and  its  teachers  set  apart,  is  so  well 
expressed  in  these  words,  that  they  offer  a  suitable  introduc- 
tion to  our  remarks  on  the  present  occasion.  They  declare 
the  object  which  we  purpose  to  promote,  in  ordaining  our 
brother  to  the  work  of  the  holy  ministry.  They  describe 
the  end  for  which  he  is  to  labor  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  min- 
istry. They  express  that  spirit  of  devout  dependence  upon 
God,  which  should  occupy  the  hearts  of  those  who  are  this 
day  to  receive  a  pastor.  "  Brethren,"  says  the  apostle, 
"  pray  for  us,"  the  ministers  of  Christ,  "  that  the  word  of 
the  Lord  "  —  that  word  which  we  preach,  which  is  God's 
truth,    and  the  sanctification    of   man — "may    have    free 

•  Delivered  at  the  ordination  of  the  Rev.  WilHatn  Henry  Fur- 
ness,  as  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Unitarian  Church  in 
Philadelphia,  January  12,  1825. 


216  MEANS    OF    PROMOTING   THE 

course  and  be  glorified "  —  may  have  a  wide  and  unob- 
structed prevalence,  and  be  an  object  of  the  admiration,  aP- 
fection,  and  faith  of  mankind. 

This  is  the  object  of  our  prayers  and  labors.  This  is  the 
object  to  which  we  devote  our  brother.  It  may  not  be  un- 
suitable to  the  occasion  to  remark  on  some  of  the  means  by 
zohich  this  object  may  be  effected ;  which  I  shall  attempt  to 
do  under  the  two  divisions  suggested  by  the  text. 

I.  1.  In  the  first  place,  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures 
is  a  powerful  means  of  effecting  this  object.  They  are,  in 
one  sense,  the  word  of  God,  though  not  in  the  sense  of  our 
text,  as  the  New  Testament  did  not  exist  at  the  time  of  the 
apostle's  writing  this  epistle.  This  volume  is  the  repository 
of  those  facts  and  instructions  on  which  the  whole  system 
of  our  religion  rests.  The  more  widely,  then,  it  is  known, 
and  the  more  carefully  it  is  studied,  the  ,more  generally  will 
religious  truth  prevail;  and  if  any  errors  have  been  mingled 
with  it  in  its  passage  down  to  the  present  age,  the  more 
readily  will  they  be  removed.  One  chief  cause  of  error  is 
want  of  knowledge.  Men  uphold  false  systems,  because 
they  are  ignorant  of  the  true.  And  the  great  book  of  truth 
cannot  be  familiarly  in  the  hands  of  all,  exercising  its 
rightful  influence  over  minds  and  hearts,  and  yet  the  do- 
minion of  error  and  falsehood  stand.  The  evil  at  present 
is,  that  the  Scriptures  are  neither  suthciently  read,  nor  with 
sufficient  freedom.  The  many  still  pay  too  great  deference 
to  their  theological  standards  and  religious  superiors,  and  to 
the  impressions  of  early  years.  They  suppose  that  they 
know  their  religion  already,  and,  therefore,  either  do  not 
study  the  Bible  at  all,  or  they  study  it  for  some  other  pur- 
pose than  that  of  learning.  So  that  the  light  of  truth  is 
prevented  from  reaching  their  understandings  and  hearts, 
either  by  closing  the  volume  which  contains  it,  or  by  clos- 


SPREAD  AND  GLORY  OF  THE  GOSPEL.         '217 

ing  their  eyes  when  the  volume  is  opened.  Whatever  is 
done,  then,  toward  promoting  the  frequent,  studious,  intelli- 
gent perusal  of  the  sacred  volume,  is  so  much  for  the  ad- 
vancement and  influence  of  the  gospel ;  and  as  it  was  the 
bringing  out  of  the  Scriptures  from  their  hidden  places, 
which  shook  the  power  of  the  Papal  throne,  so  it  is  the 
thorough  removing  of  the  veil  from  them,  and  introducing 
them  freely  and  fearlessly  to  the  understandings  of  men, 
which  shall  insure  the  dominion  of  the  consistent  and  glo- 
rious gospel. 

2.  The  prevalence  of  religion  is  to  be  ensured  by  the 
maintenance  of  public  worship  —  a  means  the  more  partic- 
ularly to  be  noticed,  as  it  is  the  principal  object  for  which 
Christian  societies  are  organized.  The  influence  of  this  is 
incalculable.  No  one  can  doubt,  who  reflects  but  for  a 
moment,  that  more  is  owing  to  it  than  to  all  other  causes ; 
and  that  no  mode  of  diffusing  and  perpetuating  knowledge, 
and  the  influence  of  knowledge,  has  ever  been  devised,  to 
be  compared  with  the  wisdom  of  this.  Public  worship 
among  the  heathen  was  quite  a  different  thing;  for  it  was 
not  familiar,  social,  and  personal,  and,  above  all,  it  was  not 
attended  with  regular  instruction  concerning  truth  and  duty. 
It  was  rather  the  magniticent  spectacle  of  a  high  festival, 
which  gratified  the  senses  with  its  opulence  and  pomp,  but 
had  no  concern  with  the  intellectual  and  moral  nature.  In 
the  Christian  system,  it  addresses  itself  to  the  hearts  of 
men,  to  their  interests,  feelings,  and  wants.  It  exercises  its 
power  over  individual  character.  It  meets  the  people  in  all 
their  little  communities,  renews,  at  short  intervals,  its  les- 
sons on  the  most  important  truths,  and  maintains  an  unin- 
termitted  oversight  of  their  moral  sentiments  and  habits. 
It  is  impossible  that  the  effects  should  not  be  vast.  This 
silent,  steady,  uniform  operation  must  act  upon  the  moral 
19 


218  MEANS    OF   PROMOTING   THE 

world,  like  the  quiet  and  equal  warmth  of  the  sun  upon  the 
vegetable  creation.  The  action  of  one  day  may  seem  insig- 
nificant ;  but  the  constant  and  permanent  action  works  won- 
ders. Men  are  sometimes  led,  doubtingly,  to  complain, 
that  no  greater  effects  are  witnessed.  They  should  con- 
sider that  this  institution  of  our  religion  is  a  vast  and  ex- 
tensive machine,  operating  on  an  immense  scale.  A  single 
congregation  is  but  one  of  the  little  wheels  in  the  compli- 
cated arrangement,  and  may  seem  to  move  on  without  bring- 
ing much  to  pass.  We  must  survey  it  in  its  connection 
with  the  whole.  We  must  think  of  this  action  as  exerted 
upon  a  whole  people,  and  as  going  on  from  year  to  year, 
and  from  generation  to  generation.  We  must  consider  what 
society  would  be  without  it.  Level  with  the  ground  your 
places  of  social  worship.  Let  the  voice  of  the  preacher  be 
hushed.  Let  the  people  be  no  more  collected  to  hear  of 
their  duties  to  God  and  to  one  another.  Let  the  seventh  day 
be  undistinguished  —  no  respite  from  the  vain  pleasures  and 
passionate  bustle  of  worldly  pursuits  ;  no  intermission  of 
the  eager  chase  of  enjoyment  and  gain ;  but  from  year  to 
year,  generation  after  generation,  let  the  whole  community 
be  given  up  to  temporary  interests,  unrcminded  of  God  and 
eternity.  It  is  ca.sy  to  conjecture  the  religious  ignorance 
and  moral  desolation  that  would  ensue,  and  how  rapidly  the 
march  would  be  taken  backward  to  the  melancholy  condi- 
tion of  the  heathen.  AVhat  reflecting  man  is  not  aware 
that  a  large  portion  of  the  Ciiristian  connnunity  have  no 
knowledge  of  their  religion,  except  what  they  gain  from  the 
weekly  services  of  God's  house?  They  are  excited  to  read 
the  Scriptures  only  by  the  impulse  which  is  given  there. 
And  therefore  the  institution  of  public  worship  is  that  which 
sustains  among  men,  certainly  the  salutary  innuencc,  and 
probably  the  very  existence,  of  Christianity  itself     Without 


SPREAD  AND  GLORY  OF  THK  GOSPEL.        219 

this,  indeed,  it  might  be  known  to  the  studious  and  inquir- 
ing, just  as  the  systems  of  Plato  and  the  Stoics ;  but  its 
blessings  would  not  be  diffused,  nor  its  holy  and  rejoicing 
light  be  shed  upon  the  dwellings  and  poured  into  the  hearts 
of  its  now  countless  votaries. 

There  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  truth  of  these 
remarks  in  the  history  of  the  Jewish  people.  Th<it  people, 
although  the  selected  nation  of  God,  acquainted  familiarly 
with  a  law  which  had  been  revealed  under  circumstances 
the  most  imposing  and  impressive ;  every  step  of  their  exist- 
ence marked  with  the  most  surprising  displays  of  the  divine 
presence  and  {mwer ;  possessing  a  temple  and  a  ritual  which 
surpassed  in  magnificence  the  most  splendid  institutions  of 
the  heathen  world;  —  yet  were  not  restrained  from  constant 
proneness  to  other  religions,  and  frequent  relapses  into  idol- 
atry. Observe  the  cause  of  this.  The  sacrifices  could  be 
tjifered  but  at  one  spot.  Their  place  of  public  assembling 
was  but  at  one  city ;  to  which,  indeed,  all  the  men  were  com- 
pelled to  resort  three  times  a  year  ;  but  only  three  times, 
and  they  became  not  very  scrupulous  for  more  than  one 
attendance,  while  the  women  and  children  were  not  bound 
to  attend  at  all.  It  therefore  happened  that  the  inhnbitants 
on  the  distant  borders  derived  no  satisfaction  from  the 
pompous  ceremonials  of  their  law,  of  which  they  were 
scarcely  witnesses  or  partakers;  they  were  far  nearer  to  the 
altars  of  the  (Jcntiles  than  to  their  own,  better  acquainted 
with  their  worshi]),  and  therefore  easily  drawn  into  it. 
After  their  long  sufierings  in  the  captivity  at  Babylon,  they 
erected  synagogues  in  all  their  villages,  collected  in  them 
for  reading  and  expounding  the  law  every  Sabbath  day,  and, 
being  thus  perpetually  interested  in  their  own  religion,  were 
no  longer  attracted  by  that  of  their  neighbors. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  brethren,  how  much  is  due  to  the 


2S10  MEANS    OF    PROJIOTIiNCi    THE 

institution  of  public  worship.  Whenever  you  assemble  here 
with  those  who  keep  holy  time,  you  are  giving  essential  aid 
to  the  cause  of  divine  truth  and  human  happiness.  There 
is  said  by  philosophers  to  be  such  a  connection  between  the 
distant  spheres  of  the  material  system,  that  no  impulse  or 
motion  can  be  felt  by  one  without  the  participation  of  all ; 
so  that  even  the  falling  of  a  stone  to  the  earth  creates  a  con- 
cussion which  is  recognized  and  answered  in  the  remotest 
star.  There  is  a  connection  not  unlike  this  between  the 
different  bodies  that  compose  the  Christian  system  on  earth. 
The  operation  of  each  is  necessary  to  that  of  the  whole  ;  the 
hinderance  of  one  is  the  hinderance  of  all.  When  you  bind 
yourselves  by  a  vow  to-day  to  labor  with  your  pastor  for  the 
regular  maintenance  of  the  social  institutions  of  our  faith, 
you  are  doing  what  affects  the  church  universal  of  our 
Lord,  and  is  recognized  in  that  distant  world  where  the 
angels  rejoice  over  every  repenting  sinner.  And  whenever, 
by  neglect,  or  contempt,  or  absence,  you  think  merely  to 
testify  your  dislike  of  a  poor  preacher,  or  your  love  of  an 
afternoon's  repose,  you  in  fact  do  all  which  you  can  do  to 
destroy  the  influence  of  the  gospel  in  the  world,  —  which, 
if  all  should  follow  your  example,  would  soon  eradicate  its 
very  existence. 

3.  Intimately  connected  with  public  worship,  so  that, 
indeed,  we  can  hardly  separate  it  even  in  thought,  is  the 
next  means  which  I  shall  mention  of  spreading  the  influence 
of  religion,  —  namely,  preaching.  This  is  the  great,  di- 
vinely-appointed instrument  of  truth  and  salvation.  It 
pleases  God,  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching,  to  save  them 
who  believe.  Without  tlii.'<,  public  worship,  as  may  easily 
be  observed,  would  lose  its  chief  efficacy  as  a  moral  means, 
and  the  Bil)le  would  soon  cease  to  be  the  most  common  and 
powerful  of  books. 


SPREAD    AND    GLORY    OF    THE    GOSPEL.  i221 

We  cannot  but  admire  the  wisdom  which  made  this 
happy  provision  for  the  perpetuity  of  religious  knowledge. 
Simple  and  efficacious  as  it  is,  the  founder  of  Christianity 
appears  to  have  been  the  first  to  discern  in  it  that  moral 
power  which  should  move  and  control  the  world.  Other 
religious  teachers  and  reformers  had  instructed  orally  ;  but 
it  was  in  scliools  and  groves,  a  select  number,  and  for  a 
limited  time.  Jesus  was  the  teacher  of  man.  lie  ad- 
dressed himself  to  the  multitude.  He  adapted  himself  to 
every  condition  and  character,  lie  spoke  as  the  reformer, 
the  leader,  the  friend,  of  the  human  race;  and  his  "gra- 
cious words "  went  forth  throughout  the  whole  mass  of 
society,  and  changed  the  moral  complexion  of  the  world. 
His  miracles,  indeed,  gave  autliority  to  his  doctrine  ;  but  it 
was  his  doctrine  which  wrought  the  change.  His  super- 
natural powers  converted  men  to  the  faith  that  he  was  from 
God  ;  but  it  was  his  preaching  which  converted  them  from 
sin.  And  in  that  effect  of  his  preaching,  we  perceive  as 
distinctly  the  agency  of  God,  as  in  his  raising  the  dead  to 
life.  That  his  command  should  call  Lazarus  from  the  tomb, 
and  that  preaching  should  reform  tiie  religions  of  the  civil- 
ized world,  are  equally  striking  demonstrations  of  tlie  pres- 
ence and  power  of  God ;  for  they  are  alike  vast  effects  from 
apparently  inadequate  causes.  A  poor,  uninstructed  peas- 
ant, by  laboring  for  three  years,  in  the  most  despised  corner 
of  the  most  despised  nation  on  earth,  whose  whole  territory 
is  but  alspcck  on  the  map  of  the  world,  laid  the  foundation 
of  a  work  which  was  to  survive  the  changes  of  empire,  and 
the  ruins  of  the  philosophies  and  religions  of  man;  and  this 
without  seeming  to  make  provision  by  any  means  adequate 
to  such  an  effect.  Oliicr  teachers  have  committed  their  wis- 
dom to  writing,  lest,  being  intrusted  to  words,  wiiich  are  but 
breath,  it  should  be  dispersed  and  lost.  But  Jesus  confided 
19  • 


222  MEANS    OF   PROMOTING   THE 

in  the  divine  energy  of  his  doctrine,  and,  with  an  unconcern 
truly  sublime,  cast  it  abroad  to  make  its  own  way  and  per- 
petuate its  own  existence  —  sufficient  proof  that  he  knew  it 
to  be  from  God.  So  it  has  proved.  Human  n)structors  and 
reformers  have  elaborately  wrought  out  their  systems;  have 
sometimes  clothed  them  in  eloquence  which  seemed  little 
less  than  inspiration,  and  promised  perpetual  continuance  to 
their  influence  over  man.  Yet  how  small  and  short  has 
that  influence  proved  !  How  have  their  sects  disappeared  I 
and  by  how  very  few  are  their  works  even  read,  though 
still  accounted  among  the  perfect  productions  of  the  human 
mind  !  While  Jesus,  uninstructed  in  human  philosophy, 
with  no  attainments  in  the  elegant  learning  of  the  world, 
teaching  but  for  three  years,  and  putting  not  a  syllable 
upon  record,  has  yet  made  his  instructions  as  familiar  to 
the  nations  as  their  own  native  tongues  —  has  bestowed 
on  the  humblest  of  his  followers  a  wisdom  superior  to  that 
of  the  Grecian  masters  themselves  —  nay,  has  aflfected  the 
whole  mass,  both  of  sentiment  and  character,  throughout 
the  whole,  as  those  great,  and  laborious,  and  long-lived  men 
were  able  to  affect  only  a  few  familiar  friends  within  the 
privileged  sphere  of  their  own  personal  influence. 

By  what  means  was  this  done  ?  It  was  through  the  insti- 
tution of  preaching.  He  sent  forth  his  followers  to  do  !xs 
he  had  done,  —  to  s])rcad  and  transmit  his  religion  by  per- 
sonal intercourse  witli  men  —  to  talk  with  them  of  God  and 
their  souls  as  a  m:m  talks  with  his  friend — to  come  near 
to  their  understandings  and  hearts  by  address  in  familiar 
speech,  by  thrilling  tones  of  voice,  by  earnest  gesture,  by 
the  appealing  eye  and  the  eloquent  countenance  —  by  that 
living  and  breathing  instrument  of  conununication  which 
God    has    iindc    as    much    more    powerful    than    the   dumb 


SPREAD  AND  GLORY  OF  THE  GOSPEL         223 

register  of  written  words  as  the  creation  of  God  is  higher 
than  the  invention  of  man. 

They  thus  went  abroad,  miracles  attesting  their  commis- 
sion, but  with  no  learning  or  accomplishments  beyond  what 
their  Master  had  given  them,  with  the  simple  but  sincere 
and  pathetic  history  of  his  life  and  teaching ;  and  the 
temples  of  false  religion,  the  altars  of  pagan  idolatry,  the 
immoralities  of  heathen  superstition,  vanished  before  them, 
and  the  holy  churcli  rose  upon  their  ruins..  By  the  same 
means  it  has  been  perpetuated  from  age  to  age  ;  and  the 
efficiency  of  this  instrument  has  perhaps  in  no  way  been 
more  distinctly  manifested,  than  in  the  fact,  that  the  religion 
itself  has  varied  and  changed  with  the  character  and  fidelity 
of  its  teachers,  has  risen  and  declined  with  their  rise  and 
fall,  and  has  from  no  cause  suffered  so  much  as  from  those 
who  rose  to  power  and  exercised  dominion,  but  would  not 
impart  instruction  ;  became  bishops  and  popes,  but  would 
not  preach  ;  —  and  has  been  recovered  by  those  who  have 
devoted  themselves  with  zeal  to  the  persevering  preaching 
of  the  word.  The  press,  indeed,  aided  and  established  the 
reformation  ;  but  it  was  the  preachers  of  the  reformation 
who  animated  and  instructed  the  press ;  and  if  these  living 
oracles  should  become  dumb,  even  the  omnipotence  of  the 
press  would  not  be  able  to  withstand  the  rapid  and  sad 
decline  of  religious  knowledge,  and  its  moral  influence. 

Observe,  then,  my  brother,  the  dignity  of  your  vocation. 
Consider  to  what  a  glorious  company  you  are  this  day 
joined  ;  what  a  niighty  instrument  it  is  given  you  to  wield, 
and  what  an  unspeakable  honor  is  yours  to  be  joined  with 
Christ  and  his  apostles  in  the  sublime  work  of  the  spiritual 
emancipation  of  man.  God  give  you  strength  to  do  as  they 
did,  and  honor  you  with  large  success ! 


224  MEANS    OF    PROMOTING    THE 

4.  Another  of  the  means  to  be  named,  in  which  the  pastor 
and  his  people  are  to  cooperate,  is  the  observance  of  the 
ordinances  of  our  faith.  No  system  of  religion  can  exten- 
sively prevail  which  is  not  aided  by  its  hold  on  the  inferior 
nature  of  man.  The  purely  spiritual,  addressed  to  a  being 
not  purely  spiritual,  will  seldom  find  access  except  by  exter- 
nal accompaniments,  which  are  more  needful  to  some  minds, 
but  in  some  measure  are  needful  to  all.  And  it  is  obser- 
vable, respecting  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  that,  besides 
the  ordinary  efficacy  attributable  to  stated  rites,  they  have 
the  weight  of  an  historical  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the 
religion  itself:  they  are  in  the  nature  of  monuments  erected 
to  the  memory  of  its  early  facts,  to  which  the  very  circum- 
stance of  their  existence  is  incontrovertible  evidence.  They 
are  perpetual  vouchers  for  the  truth  of  our  religion ;  and  by 
discontinuing  them,  you  silence  the  venerable  witnesses, 
which  have  existed  from  the  day  of  our  Lord,  bearing  testi- 
mony through  all  the  ages.  You  hide  from  the  world  cer- 
tain striking  objects,  peculiarly  adapted  to  attract  regard,  to 
fix  the  inquiring  attention,  and  prevent  Christianity  from 
being  lost  to  the  notice  of  man. 

But  beyond  this  general  importance  is  to  be  considered 
their  value  to  the  faith  and  comfort  of  believers.  They 
revive  in  their  minds,  and  keep  fresh,  the  sense  of  their 
connection  with  Christ,  and  their  obligation  to  the  truth. 
By  simple,  but  affectionate  and  tender,  appeals  to  their 
hearts,  they  increase  their  love,  strengthen  their  fiith, 
quicken  their  devotion,  animate  their  obedience.  They 
bring  nearer  to  them  a  sense  of  that  inestimable  love 
wliich  passes  knt)wledge,  and  work  in  them  a  powerful 
admiration,  and  diligent  imitation,  of  their  holy  and  hon- 
ored Lord.  No  sincere  and  grateful  believer  can  sincerely 
and  gratefully  offer  himself  or  his  child    at   the  baptismal 


SPREAD  AND  GLORY  OF  THE  GOSPEL.        225 

font,  or  sit  down  with  brethren  at  the  memorial  of  his  Mas- 
ter's love,  without  acknowledging  an  increase,  or  at  least  a 
confirmation,  of  the  power  of  religion.  No  such  one  can 
neglect  it,  after  once  tasting  its  satisfactions,  without  expe- 
riencing a  decay  of  his  interest  in  religion,  and  an  unsatis- 
fied thirst  for  the  appropriate  sustenance  of  his  soul. 

II.  Having  thus  spoken,  as  far  as  the  occasion  demands, 
of  the  means  by  which  we  are  to  promote  the  free  course 
of  the  gospel,  we  proceed  to  the  other  part  of  our  text,  and 
incjuire  how  we  may  cause  it  to  he  glorijicd.  This  is  not  a 
distinction  without  a  difference ;  since  that  may  be  upheld 
by  powerful  institutions,  and  extensively  prevail,  which  yet 
is  not  an  object  of  reasonable  reverence  and  admiration. 
And  the  friends  of  Christianity  have  done  but  apart  of  their 
duly  when  they  have  labored  for  its  diffusion,  if  they  have 
not  also  secured  for  it  the  homage,  respect,  and  love,  which 
are  its  due. 

That  it  rightfully  challenges  the  submission  and  trust  of 
man,  as  being  in  itself  essentially  and  unspeakably  glorious, 
is  beyond  controversy.  Yet,  in  order  to  be  discerned  as 
such,  it  must  be  seen  as  it  is,  in  its  own  beautiful  features, 
and  native,  unmixed  excellence.  As  it  came  from  its  Author, 
and  was  displayed  in  his  life,  none  have  ever  been  able  to 
regard  it  with  contempt  or  indifference.  The  eloquent 
tongue  of  infidelity  itself,  like  that  of  the  reluctant  demons 
of  old,  has  been  compelled  to  utter  its  eulogy  and  bear  wit- 
ness to  its  heavenly  name.  But  it  might  be  veiled  under 
such  disguises,  mingled  with  such  crude  and  false  philos- 
ophy, encumbered  with  such  unnecessary  appendages,  and  so 
implicated  with  the  weakness  and  vices  of  its  professed  ad- 
vocates, as  to  render  it  repulsive  rather  than  glorious,  and 
procure  it  enemies  instead  of  friends. 

They  who   are  set  for   the  defence   of  the  gospel   must 


226  MEANS    OF    PROMOTING   THE 

remember  tliis,  and  be  earnest  to  advance  such  a  faithful  rep- 
resentation of  its  doctrines,  that  even  gainsayers  shall  ac- 
knowledge that  "  God  is  in  them  of  a  truth."  In  deciding 
what  form  of  doctrine  will  most  attract  to  our  religion  the 
admiration  and  faith  of  mankind,  we  are  liable  to  deceive 
ourselves  by  partial  views  and  limited  considerations.  We 
are  apt  to  judge  too  exclusively  by  what  exists  before  our 
own  eyes,  and  in  the  present  state  of  the  world.  But  we 
should  reflect,  that  the  doctrine  which  is  most  honored  now, 
may  not  be  so  permanently ;  that  what  now  is  thought  to 
constitute  the  peculiar  glory  of  revelation,  may  not  be 
actually  most  glorious ;  while  that  which  is  the  contempt  of 
the  majority,  may  not  only,  under  other  circumstances,  be- 
come its  admiration,  but  may  be  grand  and  eternal  truth. 
History  overflows  with  the  proof  of  this  position.  There 
was  a  time  when  Christianity  itself  was  every  where  spoken 
against,  and  its  advocates  numbered  with  the  offscouring  of 
the  world.  There  was  a  period  when  the  Romish  church 
was  the  honor  and  pride  of  undivided  Christendom,  while 
the  noble  company  of  the  reformers  was  trodden  down  in 
contempt.  We  are  not,  therefore,  to  judge  of  what  shall  be 
lastingly  glorious  by  the  present  prevalence  of  any  of  its 
popular  forms ;  but  by  its  conformity  with  those  attributes 
of  the  divine  nature  which  are  unchanging,  those  acknowl- 
edged laws  of  truth  which  never  vary,  and  those  principles 
of  the  human  constitution  which  are  in  all  ages  the  same. 
Every  thing  else  changes  with  the  change  of  circumstances 
and  the  fluctuating  tide  of  manners  and  opinions.  This 
tide  has  lifted  on  its  surface,  and  borne  on  triumphantly 
before  men,  that  system  of  doctrine  which  is  now  glorified 
as  the  nncorrupt  and  orthodox  faith  ;  but  the  waters  may 
subside,  as  they  often  have  done  before,  and  bear  it  away, 
when  they  fall,  to  the  deep  gulf  of  neglect  and  oblivion  ; 


SPREAD    AND    GLORY    OF    THE    GOSPEL.  227 

while  the  simple  and  more  rational  system,  which  is  now 
the  object  of  abase  from  those  who  lead,  and  of  horror  in 
those  who  follow,  shall  win  to  itself  the  faith  and  affection 
of  the  world,  and  rise  in  glory,  as  it  has  been  thrust  down  in 
shame.  For  tiiis  we  are  to  toil.  Let  no  hosts  of  opposition 
discourage  us.  To  advance  this,  it  may  be  that  we  must 
bear  obloquy,  reproach,  and  suffering.  But  He  who  brought 
it  to  the  world  endured  it  all  before  ;  like  this  holy  doc- 
trine, was  despised  and  rejected  of  men  ;  and  as  he  tri- 
umphed and  reigned,  so  shall  this  doctrine  also. 

It  is  true  that  in  whatever  form  Christian  truth  may  pre- 
vail, it  is  not  robbed  of  its  lustre  or  power.  It  is  one  proof 
of  its  heavenly  origin,  that  no  corruptions  have  ever  been 
able  to  hide  its  beauty  and  majesty,  or  palsy  its  energy. 
Its  light  has  been  seen  and  felt  amid  all  the  thick  vapors 
and  dark  clouds  that  have  been  accumulated  around  it. 
But  still,  if  all  could  be  swept  away,  and  the  luminary 
shine  from  the  firmament  in  its  own  free  and  unobscured 
splendor,  how  far  more  conspicuous  would  be  its  glory, 
and  with  what  new  and  fervent  admiration  would  it  be 
welcomed  ! 

We  cannot  doubt,  then,  that  the  simplest  system  of  doc- 
trines is  most  likely  to  advance  the  permanent  glory  of  the 
gospel.  Every  thing  is  admirable  and  sublime  in  propor- 
tion to  its  simplicity.  The  objects  which  are  grandest  in 
the  works  of  nature  are  among  the  simplest.  Of  the  sub- 
lime works  of  God  this  is  one  of  the  striking  character- 
istics. What  more  sublime  than  the  starry  heavens,  the 
lofty  mountains,  the  unfathomable  ocean,  whether  sleeping 
or  tempestuous?  Yet  no  objects  are  more  simple,  or  offer 
less  complication  of  ideas.  The  grandest  of  the  works  of 
man  are  also  the  simplest.  Those  admirable  structures, 
whose  ruins  are  the  wonder  of  posterity,  and  those  writings 


228  MEANS    OF    PROMOTING   THE 

which  are  equally  first  in  all  ages,  are  for  nothing  so  re- 
markable as  for  their  noble  simplicity.  What  is  compli- 
cated and  intricate  becomes  obscure  and  wearisome ;  and 
the  only  things  whose  beauty  is  ever  new,  and  whose  at- 
traction never  ceases,  are  those  which  are  plain  and  simple. 
So  it  is  with  the  gospel.  Compared  with  the  complicated 
systems  of  the  heathen  world,  and  the  multitudinous  ol)- 
servances  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  there  is  an  obvious 
majesty  in  its  simplicity,  which  speaks  the  perfected  work  of 
God.  If  you  seek  to  render  it  imposing  by  a  profusion  of 
gorgeous  observances,  you  may,  indeed,  seem  to  succeed  for 
a  time,  and  among  some,  as  has  happened  in  the  disguises 
which  it  wore  in  the  darker  ages  of  the  church ;  but  you 
hide  its  divinest  charm,  and  liken  it  to  the  theatrical  display 
of  heathen  worship.  If  you  annex  to  it  mysterious  and 
subtle  dogmas,  which  perplex  the  understanding,  and  are 
fearful  to  the  fimcy,  you  may  seem  to  excite  veneration  and 
awe  ;  but  still  there  was  a  profounder  awe  in  the  false  mys- 
teries of  pagan  superstition ;  and  in  the  schools  of  the 
philosophers,  there  was  as  great  ingenuity  and  subtilty  of 
solemn  dogmatism,  when  "  the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not 
God,"  as  has  ever  existed  in  the  schools  of  the  fathers  and 
doctors  of  metaphysical  Christianity.  It  is  not  thus  that 
the  religion  of  Jesus  is  to  be  glorified.  It  is  when  un- 
adorned that  it  is  adorned  the  most;  when  stripped  of  all 
the  dazzling  and  pompous  accompaniments  by  which  man 
would  give  lustre  to  the  work  of  God,  it  stands  forth,  as 
Jesus  walked  in  Judea,  humble,  unpretending,  without 
title  or  state,  yet  with  a  native  mien  of  dignity  and  power 
which  impresses  and  overawes. 

"  O,  how  unlike  the  complex  works  of  man, 
Heaven's  easy,  artless,  unencumbered  plan  ! 


SPREAD   AND   GLORY    OF   THE   GOSPEL.  229 

No  inerotricions  graces  to  beguile, 
No  clustering  ornaments  to  clog  the  pile; 
From  ostentation  as  from  weakness  free, 
It  stands,  like  the  cerulean  arch  we  see, 
Majestic  in  its  own  simplicity." 

This  simplicity  of  the  gospel  is  seen  in  its  chjcct  and  in 
the  manner  in  which  it  accomplishes  that  object. 

Its  object  is  the  salvation  of  man,  that  is,  his  preparation 
for  the  happiness  of  heaven,  by  forming  in  him  a  holy  heart 
and  character,  —  an  object  simple  and  unambiguous,  yet 
one  of  the  grandest  which  can  be  conceived  by  the  human 
mind. 

That  this  is  the  single  and  final  purpose  of  the  Christian 
revelation,  is  written  so  plainly  on  its  very  front  that  it  can- 
not be  mistaken.  This  is  what  is  meant  when  it  proposes 
to  "  make  all  things  new;"  when  it  speaks  of  the  universal 
regeneration  of  man  and  earth ;  and  would  "  purify  a  pe- 
culiar people  zealous  of  good  works."  Amidst  all  the  dif- 
ferences of  Christians  respecting  the  doctrines  and  forms 
of  their  religion,  it  has  never  been  matter  of  question  that 
this  is  its  end.  Whatever  influence  the  incautious  interpre- 
tation and  preaching  of  the  word  may  often  appear  to  have 
had  in  relaxing*  the  obligation  of  virtue,  and  encouraging 
sin,  —  whatever  opinions  inconsistent  with  a  pure  heart  and 
moral  life  may  have  been  vehemently  maintained, — yet  it 
has  never  been  deliberately  denied,  that  a  pure  heart  and 
holy  life  are  the  intended  and  essential  results  of  the  Chris- 
tian system,  without  which  it  does  not  save. 

For  this  reason,  it  is  the  more  melancholy  that  any 
should  be  found  in  the  Christian  pulpit  to  speak  in  sneering 
and  contemptuous  tones  of  morality,  and  thus  render  it  an 
object  of  suspicion  and  dislike  to  religious  people.  Doubt- 
less there  is  an  external  superficial  propriety,  sometimes 
20 


230  MEANS    OF    PROMOTING   THE 

dignified  with  the  name  of  morality,  built  upon  worldly 
expediency,  independent  of  the  great  principles  of  right, 
and  the  authority  of  God,  which,  in  the  view  of  the  Chris- 
tian, is  utterly  hollow  and  insufficient.  But  this  should  be 
referred  to  the  class  of  wrong  principles  and  motives. 
Speak  of  it  as  such  strongly  as  you  please; 'but  it  is  a  fatal 
error,  on  account  of  this  mistake,  to  cast  suspicion  upon 
the  very  name  of  morals ;  for  you  thus  lead  men  lightly  to 
esteem,  easily  deride,  and  practically  trample  upon,  what  is 
as  indispensable  a  part  of  Christian  holiness,  as  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  is  of  the  New  Testament,  or  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments of  the  Old ;  and  what  can  be  no  more  inno- 
cently slighted,  than  those  holy  passages  may  be  expunged 
from  the  sacred  volume. 

As  the  object  of  the  gospel  is  thus  simple,  so  also,  as  I 
said,  are  its  means. 

These  may  be  said  to  be  divine  truth.  Truth  is  the  great 
instrument  by  which,  in  this  dispensation  of  God's  grace, 
the  human  mind  is  wrought  upon,  subdued,  guided,  sancti- 
fied, saved.  "  Sanctify  them  by  thy  truth ;  thy  tcord  is 
truth."  "  Being  born  again  by  the  ivord  of  God,  which 
liveth  and  abidcth  forever." 

This  word,  or  truth,  divides  itself  into  two  branches; 
doctrines  or  principles,  and  precepts;  in  other  words,  in- 
struction concerning  the  principles  of  religion,  and  con- 
cerning their  application  in  practice.  In  regard  to  each, 
great  is  the  simplicity  of  the  means  by  which  the  gospel 
effects  its  objects. 

In  regard  io  doctrine s,i\\e.\x  great  purpose  is  the  formation 
of  the  religious  principle.  Those  which  are  necessary  to 
this  are  few  and  intelligible.  The  religious  principle,  which 
frames  the  character  of  the  religious  man,  and  sanctifies 
him  throughout  by  its  influence,  is  that  settled  regard  to  the 


SPREAD   AND    GLORY    OF    THE    GOSPEL.  231 

divine  authority,  presence,  and  perfections,  which  induces  a 
necessary  conformity  to  liis  will.  Now,  what  are  the  doc- 
trines wliich  are  necessary  to  such  a  state  of  mind  ?  That 
they  cannot  be  very  numerous  or  very  difficult,  is  evident 
from  this,  — that  the  patriarchs,  in  the  infancy  of  knowl- 
edge and  religion,  possessed  it.  The  apostle  speaks  of  it  in 
them  under  the  name  o(  foith,  and  declares  that  it  quali- 
fied them  to  "  inherit  the  promises."  Now,  their  faith,  suf- 
ficient as  it  was,  was  a  faith  in  no  more  articles  than  the 
existence,  providence,  and  perfections  of  God,  and  a  con- 
sequent trust  in  him  and  subjection  to  his  will,  under  a 
sense  of  their  accountableness. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  religious  principle  may 
exist  upon  the  foundation  of  a  k\v  simple  doctrines.     It  is 
equally  evident  that  it  does  so  exist  beneath  the  Christian 
dispensation.     Its   great  doctrines  of  God's    authority    and 
man's  accountableness,  together  with  the  mission  of  Jesus 
as  the  promised  Messiah  and  Savior  of  men,  and  a  future 
state  of  righteous  retribution,  are  those  on  which  the  reli- 
gious principle  is  now  builded,  and  by  which  man  is  sancti- 
fied and  saved.     Or,  to  express  the  same  thing  in  the  words 
of  our  Lord  himself.    This  is  life  eternal,  to  know  thee   the 
only    true  God,    and  Jesus   Christ,   whom    thou   hast    lent 
There  are  doubtless  other  truths  connected  with  these    and 
following  from  them.     But  these  are  the  sufficient  princi- 
pics  which  lie  at  the  foundation,  and  sustain,  and  lead  to 
the  others.     These  are  they  which  the  Ifoly  Scriptures  alone 
enumerate,  when  they  profess  to  assert  what  is  essential  to 
salvation.     These,  when  they  have  made  their  abode  in  the 
mind,  are  able  to  control,  to  subdue,  to  correct,  to  elevate, 
to  purify.     Tliey  present  the  most  grand  and  authoritative 
motives;  they  combine  with  themselves  all  that  is  alfectincr 
in  the  history  and  facts  of  our  religion;  and  they  pervade 


232  MEA>'S    OF    PROMOTING   THE 

the  mind  which  heartily  receives  them  with  holy  and  pure 
devotion. 

Such  is  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel  in  those  doctrines 
through  which  it  operates  on  men. 

This  representation,  I  am  aware,  does  not  acknowledge 
in  the  Christian  system  some  of  those  features  which  are 
by  many  thought  to  belong  to  it,  and  to  constitute  its  essen- 
tial glory.  It  may  seem  to  such  less  imposing ;  it  certainly 
offers  less  gratification  to  that  thirst  for  the  mystical  and 
mysterious,  which  some  are  so  anxious,  to  gratify,  and  which 
is  so  strong  a  propensity  in  the  human  constitution,  that,  if 
I  believed  in  the  original  corruption  of  human  nature,  I 
might  be  inclined  to  number  this  among  those  depraved 
passions  which  are  inimical  to  the  truth.  I  certainly  con- 
ceive it  most  consistent  with  the  character  of  a  revealed 
religion,  that  its  revelations  be  clear  and  distinct,  not 
wrapped  up  in  obscurity  and  mysticism.  They  may  not  be 
within  the  grasp  and  full  comprehension  of  the  finite  mind  ; 
but  the  mind  must  be  able  to  know  tchat  they  are ;  other- 
wise they  are  not  revealed.  Yet  there  has  always  been 
amoniT  men  an  unwise  cravinor  for  what  is  mysterious, 
va?Tue,  inexplicable ;  for  whatever  oppresses  and  overwhelms 
the  imagination,  and  is  in  some  degree  an  object  of  terrific 
emotion.  It  is  this  which  has  in  all  ages  created  the  insati- 
able curiosity  to  search  the  secrets  of  the  grave :  which  has 
called  forth  the  tales  and  terrors  of  supernatural  apparitions, 
and  the  cruel  and  bloody  superstitions  which  appertain  to 
sorcery  and  magic.  It  is  the  same  propensity  which  has  led 
to  the  loading  of  all  religions  with  fearful  and  dismaying 
appendages.  A  plain  religion,  which  men  can  understand 
and  explain,  seems  to  them  not  sufficiently  removed  from 
human  things,  not  sufficiently  awful  and  distant,  too  well 
adapted  to  poor  human  understanding.     They  would  have 


SPREAD  AND  GLORY  OF  THE  GOSPEL.        233 

shadows,  clouds,  and  darkness  rest  upon  it ;  they  would 
believe  and  worship  they  know  not  what.  When,  therefore, 
Christianity  came  to  them,  plainly  and  frankly,  to  walk  with 
them  and  converse  with  them  as  a  familiar  friend,  they  were 
both  astonished  and  dissatisfied  :  they  thought  it  ought  not 
to  be  so.  simple  as  it  appeared,  and  soon  persuaded  them- 
selves that  it  was  not ;  then  they  obscured  it  under  the  fol- 
lies and  fancies,  mysteries  and  forms,  notions  and  specula- 
tions, which  they  had  brought  with  them  from  their  heathen 
faith  and  heathen  philosophy.  History  tells  us  how  sadly 
the  pure  doctrine  soon  became  disfigured  by  the  incorpora- 
tion of  pagan  rites  and  philosophical  dogmas;  more  and 
more  obscured  as  the  age  grew  darker  and  darker,  until,  in 
the  midnight  of  the  barbaric  ages,  it  could  hardly  be  dis- 
tinguished, amid  its  disguises,  for  the  plain  system  of  Christ. 
A  single  example  of  this  may  well  illustrate  this  general 
position.  In  the  early  day. of  Christianity,  a  synopsis  of  the 
Christian  doctrine  was  drawn  up,  which  has  come  down  to 
us  under  the  name  of  the  Apostles'  Creed.  This  describes 
what,  was  then  thought  to  be  the  orthodox  faith  ;  and  it 
represents  the  gospel  so  nearly  according  to  its  Master's  sim- 
plicity, that  at  this  day  the  heterodox  Unitarian  subscribes 
it  as  heartily  as  the  orthodox  Trinitarian,  and  with  far  more 
consistency.  But  at  the  council  of  Nice,  so  great  progress 
had  been  made  in  adapting  the  gospel  to  the  human  love  of 
the  marvellous,  that  a  new  creed  was  fashioned,  containing 
many  very  subtile  and  unintelligible  distinctions.  After  a 
yet  further  lapse  toward  barbarism,  a  yet  further  adapta- 
tion was  requisite ;  and  then  came  forth  the  full  maturity  of 
the  Athanasian  Creed,  containing  not  only  the  most  wonder- 
ful mysteries  which  a  degenerate  age  could  express,  but  the 
most  hearty  curses  a  profligate  age  could  utter.  These 
three  creeds  may  be  fairly  regarded  as  three  raonuraeuls,  by 
20* 


234  MEANS    OF    PROMOTING   THE 

which  the  ingress  of  the  dark  ages  was  marked.  And  in 
like  manner  they  may  serve  to  signify  the  progress  of  the 
light  of  the  reformation.  The  Athanasian  Creed  is  hardly 
named  among  Protestants,  except  with  pity  and  horror. 
For  even  the  members  of  that  church  which  still  commands 
it  to  be  read  thirteen  times  a  year,  pay  it  neither  deference 
nor  respect.  The  Nicene  symbol  is  fast  losing  its  authority 
and  veneration.  As  knowledge  and  candor  gain  ground, 
the  churches  are  more  and  more  satisfied  with  the  plain 
exposition  of  the  Apostles'  Creed  ;  many  have  even  gone 
back  to  the  true  creed  of  the  apostles  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Would  to  God  that  the  progress  of  the  reformation  had 
been  more  rapid  and  more  thorough !  But  the  same  causes 
which  rendered  it  necessary  have  contributed  to  retard  it. 
We  are  not  to  expect,  therefore,  that  the  church  will  return 
at  once  to  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ.  It  is  too  plain 
and  unpretending  :  yet,  in  truth,  -this  is  its  glory  ;  at  present 
too  little  recognized,  too  much  despised;  yet  a  wonderful 
and  unspeakable  glory.  There  have  been  those  who  would 
not  believe  in  the  remedy  which  God  has  in  late  years  pro- 
vided for  the  most  loathsome  of  diseases,  because  it  is  so 
simple;  and  just  so,  many  will  not  believe  that  so  simple  a 
gospel  can  work  the  regeneration  of  the  world,  and  there- 
fore they  would  fill  it  with  wonders.  Let  ns,  brethren,  re- 
ceive it  as  it  is,  as  it  lies  in  the  Scriptures  of  truth.  Let  us 
not  be  anxious  for  other  wonders ;  the  greatest  of  all  won- 
ders-is its  simplicity.  And  nothing  which  the  invention  of 
man  has  added,  or  can  add,  could  so  demonstrate  "  the  wis- 
dom of  God  and  the  power  of  God." 

Besides  the  doctrinal  portion  of  our  religion,  there  is,  I 
observed,  its  preceptive  portion,  which  also  operates  as  a 
chief  means  towards  effecting  its  great  design.  Under  this 
division  there  is  a  simplicity  equally  remarkable,  though  it 


SPREAD  AND  GLORY  OF  THE  GOSPEL.        235 

is  unnecessary  to  enter  into  so  full  an  illustration.  Nothing 
can  be  less  complicated  or  obscure.  The  directions  con- 
cerning duty  are  plain  and  comprehensive ;  not  needlessly 
multiplied,  and  so  referable  to  a  few  great  principles,  as  to  be 
liable  to  no  doubt,  forget  fulness,  or  mistake.  Love  to  God 
and  to  men  is  their  substance.  Whatever  is  inconsistent 
with  this  is  forbidden ;  whatever  is  conformable  to  this  is 
duty.  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law  :  he  who  cherishes 
the  principle  will  never  be  guilty  of  a  breach  of  the  law. 
There  is  needed  no  extensive  learning,  no  deep  and  labori- 
ous investigation,  no  profound  and  intricate  ratiocination,  to 
ascertain  what  the  Lord  requires  of  us;  no  volumes  of 
refined  casuistry,  or  metaphysical  discu.'ssions,  which  should 
make  it  a  "  very  learned,  subtile,  and  ingenious  thing  to  be 
a  Christian."  But  the  path  is  plain,  and  the  directions 
unembarrassed ;  and  the  wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool, 
need  not  err  therein. 

Such  is  the  character  in  which  the  gospel  must  be  pre- 
sented, if  we  would  secure  its  true  and  permanent  glory. 
I  pass  to  remark  more  briefly,  in  the  next  place,  that,  if  we 
would  cause  it  to  be  glorified,  we  must  advocate  it  with  zeal. 
The  success  of  every  cause,  of  whatever  nature,  is  greatly 
dependent  on  the  spirit  of  its  friends.  It  is  for  them  to 
present  its  claims,  to  urge  them  on  the  notice  of  nien,  to 
awaken  attention  to  them,  and  to  excite  interest  in  others 
by  evincing  that  it  has  had  power  to  interest  themselves. 
IIow  many  arduous  and  almost  impossible  enterprises  have 
been  achieved  by  the  simple  force  of  the  ardor  with  which 
their  conductors  prosecuted  them  !  IIow  many  excellent 
plans,  of  no  very  dilHcult  accomplishment,  have  been  suf- 
fered to  fail  merely  for  want  of  zeal  and  enterprise  in  their 
behalf!  With  this  truth  impressed  upon  us  by  all  the 
experience  of  the  past,  we  cannot  look  for  the  gospel  to  pre- 


236  MEANS    OF    PROMOTING    THE 

vail,  in  an  opposing  world,  except  it  call  forth  the  zealous  co- 
operation of  its  friends.  It  never  has  been  so,  it  never  can 
be  so.  God  has  made  the  energy  of  man  to  work  its  preva- 
lence in  .times  past,  and  he  has  not  changed  the  constitu- 
tion of  things.  Throughout  the  history  of  the  church,  it 
has  been  the  "  fervent  in  spirit"  who  have  commanded  the 
attention  and  homage  of  men.  Zeal,  even  when  degener- 
ated into  fanaticism,  and  separated  from  the  aids  of  reason, 
has  gathered  followers  and  gained  power.  And  reason, 
except  when  allied  with  zeal  and  active  perseverance,  has 
been  little  able  to  maintain,  much  less  to  extend,  her  rightful 
dominion. 

God  forbid,  then,  that  the  greatest  and  most  important  of 
all  causes  should  be  treated  by  its  friends  lightly  and  coolly ; 
and  that,  through  any  apprehension  of  being  charged  with 
"  madness,"  they  should  avoid  the  earnest  and  burning 
"words  of  truth  and  soberness,"  and  the  ready  self-devotion 
of  those  who  "spend  and  are  spent"  to  promote  magnifi- 
cent designs.  A  man  without  zeal  lives  to  the  condemna- 
tion either  of  his  own  heart,  which  is  incapable  of  high  moral 
fervor,  or  of  his  profession,  which  is  unworthy  of  it.  Zeal 
is  doubtless  a  different  thing  in  different  men.  In  some 
men,  it  cannot  be  excited  to  that  passion  which  it  displays 
in  others.  But  every  man  is  susceptible  of  a  moral  energy 
of  action,  a  devotion  of  spirit  to  some  favorite  object ;  and 
this  is  zeal  —  capable  of  cultivation  and  growth.  Let  it  be 
cultivated  and  grow  in  the  friends  of  religion,  if  they  would 
advance  tiicir  religion.  It  excites  attention,  sympathy,  and 
cooperation.  It  is  the  spring  of  successful  action.  It  is  in 
character  wliat  eloquence  is  in  language.  It  gives  a  man 
surprising  power  over  the  minds  of  otliers ;  it  enables  him 
to  excite  the  hearts  of  the  coolest,  and  engage  the  exertions 
of  the  most  indolent.     To  act  for  a  great  cause  coldly  is  as 


SPREAD  AND  GLORY  OF  THE  GOSPEL..       237 

disgraceful  as  to  plead  for  it  sluggishly  ;  and  to  do  either  is 
lo  aid  in  defeating  it.  It  were  better  to  be  fanatical  than  in- 
diflfereut ;  for  then  it  might  at  least  be  seen  that  our  religion 
has  power  to  move  and  agitate.  But  where  reason  presides 
over  the  religious  affections,  tlie  last  thing  to  be  appre- 
hended is  fanaticism ;  and  success  is  not  to  be  hoped  or 
expected,  except  men  be  addressed  with  fervor  and  earnest- 
ness, and  their  moral  feelings  be  engaged  by  the  beauty, 
grandeur,  and  excellence  of  what  is  in  itself  so  holy  and 
sublime,  and  so  fitted  to  insure  the  perfection  of  the  human 
cliaracter. 

At  the  same  time,  if  we  would  cause  the  truth  to  be  glo- 
rified, it  must  be  advocated  with  charity.  There  must  be 
no  bitterness,  nor  clamor,  nor  wrath,  nor  malice,  nor  evil 
speaking,  in  the  Christian's  zeal.  All  these  are  contrary  to 
his  Master's  spirit,  and  hinder  his  cause.  The  spirit  of 
intolerance  and  bigotry  has  been  one  of  the  principal  ob- 
stacles to  the  progress  of  the  church  and  the  improvement 
of  man.  It  has  led  to  the  assumption  of  authority  which 
Christ  never  delegated,  to  the  uttering  of  anathemas  which 
his  word  does  not  warrant,  to  the  imposition  of  creeds 
which  bind  ihe  truth  in  fetters,  and  deprive  the  soul  of  its 
lawful  light  and  liberty.  Let  all  this  be  discouraged,  here 
and  elsewhere.  Wherever  Christ's  proclamation  of  liberty 
has  been  heard,  let  not  the  pretensions  of  human  bigotry  be 
tolerated.  It  has  shed  the  best  blood  of  the  church,  and 
impiously  striven  to  blot  out  the  names  of  good  men  from 
the  Lamb's  book  of  life.  In  this  blessed  land  its  dungeons 
have  been  destroyed,  and  its  fagots  extinguished,  and  it 
has  been  cast  down  from  the  throne  of  power,  where  it 
wielded  the  magistrate's  sword.  But  it  still  lodges  in  many 
an  unhappy  bosom,  and  blasts,  with  the  venomous  breath  of 
its  mouth,  reputation,  influence,  and  peace.     As  we  honor 


238  .  MEANS    OF    PROMOTING   THE 

the  name  of  our  Lord,  let  us  wage  against  this  foe  a  war 
of  extermination.  Let  us  not  rest,  nor  hold  our  peace,  till 
its  power  be  utterly  trodden  under  foot.  Watch  against  it, 
pray  agauist  it,  preach  against  it.  Let  not  a  word  nor  a 
thought  plead  for  it  in  this  holy  place.  No,  my  brother, 
though  your  people,  with  the  madness  of  Israel  when 
he  asked  a  king,  should  clamor  for  a  creed  that  might 
exclude  their  own  faith  from  improvement,  and  other  be- 
lievers from  their  fellowship,  or  should  press  you  to  fulmi- 
nate from  this  place  the  denunciations  of  reviling  and  ill-will 
which  have  sounded  from  other  pulpits,  resist  them  to  the 
utmost,  and  pay  any  price  rather  than  so  far  forget  the  spirit 
and  example  of  your  Lord.  And  if  you,  brethren,  should 
ever  find  in  your  pastor  this  sad  breach  of  holy  charity,  fail 
not  to  remind  him  that  he  is  unfaithful  to  his  trust,  and 
enter  your  loud  protest  against  this  dishonor  to  a  good 
cause,  this  desecration  of  a  holy  office.  True  religion  will 
triumph  only  as  it  is  free.  You  set  limits  to  its  empire 
whenever  you  abridge  the  right  of  free  inquiry,  or  allow  any 
man  to  place  himself  on  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  or 
nourish  in  your  own  bosoms  a  censorious  temper  and  a 
spiritual  ambition. 

But,  above  all,  in  the  last  place,  there  is  nothing  which 
will  so  tend  to  promote  the  honor  of  the  true  gospel,  as  the 
faithful  and  consistent  lives  of  its  friends.  Its  highest  eu- 
logy is  read  in  their  elevated  and  uniform  devotion,  their 
trust  in  God,  their  equanimity  in  change  and  trial,  their 
fidelity  in  every  relation,  their  integrity,  purity,  humility, 
benevolence.  To  form  these  virtues  in  them,  to  render 
them  "  perfect  in  every  good  word  and  work,"  is  the  very 
object  to  be  effected  by  their  adherence  to  the  gospel.  If  it 
be  not  effected,  discredit  is  brought  upon  the  religion  itself, 
which  they  profess  to  advocate,  for  the  sake  of  a  good  in- 


SPREAD   AND    GLORY    OF    THE    GOSPEL.  239 

fluence,  which  their  own  lives  dedare  it  does  not  possess. 
But  when  their  conversation  is  according  to  the  blanieless- 
ness  and  purity  of  the  Christian  doctrine,  fashioned  upon 
the  model  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  illustrious  with  the  consist- 
ent beauty  of  his  excellences,  it  is  a  livinor  and  breathino- 
eulogy  of  their  faith,  which  every  one  sees,  understands, 
feels,  and  acknowledges.  The  profound  scholar,  the  learned 
theologian,  the  eloquent  orator,  may  demonstrate,  illustrate, 
and  adorn ;  but  the  devout  and  humble  believer,  who 
"  shows  hi^!  faith  by  his  works,"  will  do  far  more  to  con- 
vince and  win.  Has  it  not  always  been  so  ?  Is  it  not  when 
adorned  by  the  charitable  and  unspotted  lives  of  its  friends, 
that  the  religion  of  Jesus  has  been  most  glorious  and  admi- 
rable ?  And  has  it  not  been  cast  down  from  its  honorable 
place,  whenever  worldliness  and  hypocrisy  have  marked  the 
character  of  its  advocates  ?  Does  not  the  history  of  the 
church,  in  all  ages,  teach  us,  that,  however  glorious  our  re- 
ligion may  be  in  itself,  yet  the  ill  conduct  of  its  friends  may 
obscure  that  glory,  and  their  exemplary  lives  render  it  more 
conspicuous  ?  So  that  we  are  to  regard  it  as  given  into  our 
hands,  a  precious,  solemn,  awful  charge,  to  be  by  us  adorneu 
and  recommended  to  mankind,  or  to  be  by  us  disfigured, 
obscured,  and  made  a  reproach  among  men  ;  —  even  as  it  is 
written,  "  My  name  is  blasphemed  among  the  nations  be- 
cause of  you."  What  a  responsibility,  then,  is  ours !  God 
grant  that  we  may  be  able  faithfully  to  sustain  it ! 

In  occupying  the  time  allotted  me  on  this  occasion,  I 
have  endeavored  to  point  out  the  principal  means  which  it 
suggests  of  advancing  religion  through  its  public  institu- 
tions, and  of  recommending  it  to  the  faith  and  admiration 
of  men  through  the  character  of  the  doctrine  preached,  and 
by  the  zeal,  liberality,  and  consistency  of  life,  with  which 
the  great  cause  is  advocated.     To  you,  my  dear  brother, 


240  MEANS    OF    PROMOTING    THE 

these  topics  particularly  address  themselves.  They  concern 
your  duties,  your  happiness,  your  success,  in  that  calling  to 
which  you  now  devote  yourself  in  the  presence  of  God  and 
man.  It  becomes  the  object  of  your  life  to  uphold  the  wor- 
ship and  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  and  to  labor  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  its  glory  in  the  world.  May  God  grant  you  a 
great  blessing !  May  he  give  you  zeal,  charity,  and  piety, 
and  make  you  eminently  serviceable  to  the  cause  of  divine 
truth  and  human  salvation.  In  the  situation  to  which  you 
have  been  called,  there  are  circumstances  of  peculiar  trial. 
They  fill  your  mind  with  solicitude,  and  they  demand  from 
us  expressions  and  acts  of  sympathy  and  aid,  which  I  trust 
we  shall  not  fail  to  render  you.  May  they  never  be  with- 
held, and  never  be  ineffectual ;  and  in  every  trial,  may  He 
especially  be  your  support,  who  is  nearer  and  greater  than 
all  earthly  friends.  There  are  also  peculiar  circumstances 
of  encouragement  and  grounds  of  hope,  which  may  well 
cheer  and  animate  your  exertions.  May  your  best  hopes  of 
usefulness  and  happiness  be  fulfilled.  May  you  find  your 
separation  from  the  friends  of  your  youth  compensated  in 
the  kindness  and  fidelity  of  those  who  welcome  you  as  one 
of  themselves.  May  you  have  the  great  happiness  of  wit- 
nessing the  prevalence  of  pure  and  undefiled  religion  in  all 
its  heavenly  and  holy  doctrines,  in  all  its  pure  and  comfort- 
ing influences,  in  all  its  correcting  and  regenerating  power; 
and  having  been  with  this  people  "  fellow-helpers  to  the 
truth"  on  earth,  may  you  and  they  see  the  full  glory,  and 
partake  the  unspeakable  felicity  of  the  blessed  in  the  eternal 
kingdom  of  God. 

Brethren  of  this  Christian  society  :  We  offer  you  our 
congratulations  on  the  auspicious  occurrence  of  this  day. 
Long  and  faithfully  have  you  persevered  in  administering 
the  worship  and  ordinances  of  God's   house,  according  to 


SPREAD  AND  GLORY  OF  THE  GOSPEL.        241 

the  dictates  of  your  consciences ;  and,  faithful  to  their  dic- 
tates, you  still  persevere.  You  have  the  good  wishes  and 
prayers  in  your  behalf  of  your  si.ster  churches.  May  God 
smile  upon  you,  and  send  you  prosperity.  May  he  abun- 
dantly reward  "  all  your  patience  of  faith  and  labor  of  love," 
and  cause  this  day  to  be  remembered  with  devout  gratitude, 
by  you  and  your  children,  not  only  during  this  pilgrimage 
of  your  probation,  but  in  the  future  world  of  eternal  rec- 
ompense. 

And  in  order  to  this,  let  me  exhort  you  in  the  words  of 
the  apostle  —  Brethren,  pray  for  tis  —  pray  for  your  pastor; 
let  your  devotions  encourage  him  ;  and,  by  your  zealous  and 
hearty  cooperation,  may  you  cause  that  the  word  of  the  Lord 
have  free  course,  and  be  glorified,  around  you,  beyond  you, 
and  throughout  the  world,  even  as  it  is  amongst  you. 


21 


SERMON    XV.* 


THE  OBJECT  AND  MEANS   OF  THE   CHRISTIAN 
MINISTRY. 

COLOSSLVNS    [.  28. 

WHOM  WE  PREACH,  WARNING  EVERY  MAN  AND  TEACHING  EVERY  MAN 
IN  ALL  WISDOM,  THAT  WE  MAY  PRESENT  EVERY  MAN  PERFECT  IN 
CHRIST  JESUS. 

The  apostle,  in  these  words,  makes  a  comprehensive  state- 
ment of  the  object  and  the  means  of  the  Christian  ministry, 
which  may  afford  suitable  hints  for  our  meditation  on  the 
present  occasion.  Its  object  is  human  perfection,  and  the 
means,  such  a  preaching  of  Christ  that  every  man  shall  be 
taught  and  warned.  "Whom  we  preach, — warning  every 
man  and  teaching  every  man  in  all  wisdom,  that  we  may 
present  every  man  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus." 

I  shall  attempt  nothing  more  than  to  develop  and  apply 
the  ideas  thus  suggested.  The  Christian  ministry  has  for 
its  Object,  human  perfection;  and  for  its  Means,  the 
preaching  of  Christ. 

Human  perfection  :  What  is  it  ?  In  what  does  it  consist? 
Where  is  it  to  be  found  ? 

*  Pr(!aclied  at  the  ordination  of  the  Rev.  Cyrus  A.  Bartol,  as 
junior  pastor  of  the  West  Church,  in  Boston,  Wednesday,  March  1, 
1837. 


OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.        243 

Certainly   it   is   not   divine   perfection.       The  finite   and 
mortal  does  not  compete  with  the   infinite   and   immortal. 
But  there  is  to  the  works  of  God,  as  well   as  to  himself,  a 
perfection  appertaining,  suitable  to  their  own  nature  and  end 
—  a  perfection  which  is  impressed  upon  them  at  their  orig- 
inal formation,  or  to  which  they  are  led  by  a  process  of  devel- 
opment and  growth.      The  beautiful  order  of  the  planetary 
worlds  was  probably  made  perfect  when  those  worlds  were 
first  cast  out  upon  their  courses,  and  that  light,  which  is  the 
glorious  emblem  of  its  wondrous  Former,  burst  into  being 
in  the  fulness  of  its  glory.     But  the  plant  that  comes  up 
from  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  and  the  animal  that  is  to  enjoy 
life  amid  its  abundance  and  beauty,  these,  in  all  their  tribes 
and  orders,  arrive  at  their  perfection  by  an  appointed  prog- 
ress.    God  has  richly  provided  the  means  of  that  progress 
in   the   arrangements  of  his  common  providence,  —  where 
the  warmth  and  the  moisture  of  the  sun  and  the  air,  the  rev- 
olutions of  the  seasons,  and  the  fertility  of  the  earth,  carry 
forward  to  their  destined  perfection  the  vegetable  and  the 
animal    races.      These   provisions  would  be    sufficient   for 
man,  if  he  too,  like  them,  were  merely  the  creature  of  this 
earth  ;  but,  as  he  has  a  higher  nature,  and  is  capable  of  a 

higher  perfection  than  they,  something  further  is  needed, 

an  intellectual  and  spiritual  providence, — the  sun,  and  rain, 
and  dew,  and  nurture  of  a  spiritual  life,  —  leading  forward 
to  a  perfection  in  man,  as  superior  to  that  of  the  animal,  as 
immortal  mind  is  superior  to  decaying  matter. 

This  spiritual  providence,  designed  to  effect  for  the  soul 
what  an  earthly  providence  effects  for  the  body,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  operation  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Not 
exclusively  ;  for  the  great  Father  never  left  his  children 
without  witness  and  without  care.  But  the  chief,  the  fa- 
vorite, the  all-comprehending  institution  is  that  system  of 


244        OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 

grace  and  truth  which  came  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  which 
makes  wise  unto  salvation  ;  the  efficient  instrument  of  whose 
operation  is  the  ministry. 

What,  then,  is  this  perfection  for  which  man  is  made,  in 
aid  of  which  the  gospel  is  established,  and  for  which  all  in- 
stitutions of  human  origin  had  proved  inadequate  1 

They  had  proved  inadequate  because  of  the  inadequate 
notions  of  human  perfection  on  which  they  were  founded. 
The  leaders  of  society,  the  founders  and  guides  of  nations, 
the  patriots,  the  lawgivers,  the  philosophers,  who  made  men 
their  study  and  their  care,  all  failed  of  introducing  a  perfect 
social  condition,  because  they  misapprehended  man,  his 
capacity,  his  destiny.  They  regarded  him  as  a  creature  of 
time,  and  as  a  component  part  of  the  state.  They  legislated 
for  him,  they  educated  him,  they  provided  for  him,  simply 
as  holding  a  certain  place  in  the  commonwealth,  as  having 
a  certain  part  to  perform  in  the  machinery  of  society,  to 
which  he  was  to  be  precisely  fitted  as  a  moving  wheel,  or  a 
stationary  beam ;  and  society  was  accounted  perfect  and 
prosperous,  when,  through  this  process,  every  thing  was  in 
orderly  operation,  and  the  engine  of  state  "  worked  well." 

This  has  been  the  idea  of  the  worldly  and  the  politicians 
in  all  ages ;  and  it  was  inadequate,  because  it  left  out  of 
view  the  two  essential  elements  on  which  the  true  concep- 
tion of  human  attainment  rests,  namely,  the  spiritual  equal- 
ity and  immortality  of  all  men.  Hence  men  have  always 
been  treated  as  having  relation  to  time  only,  and  without 
any  regard  to  their  capacity  for  progress.  Provided  the 
state  was  served  and  society  prosperous,  no  one  cared  for 
the  condition  of  the  individual,  lie  might  be  a  mere  tool, 
a  machine,  a  slave,  an  engine  for  working  mines  or  mak- 
ing pins.  His  intellect  and  his  character  were  matters 
of  no  consequence ;  and  it  was  held  as  absurd  to  raise  any 


OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.        245 

from  the  accidental  rank  which  their  birth  had  assigned 
them,  as  to  elevate  the  lower  animals  to  an  equal  place  with 
man.  There  was  no  recognition  of  the  innate  equality  and 
immortality  of  the  human  soul.  Christianity  recognizes 
both.  It  sees  in  every  individual  man  a  partaker  of  the  di- 
vine image,  capable  of  infinite  progress,  certain  of  an  infinite 
duration.  It  demands  that  perfection  which  belongs  to  the 
spiritual  nature  and  the  spiritual  life ;  it  would  make  each 
man  perfect  as  an  individual  being;  not  in  his  relation  to  an 
accidental  rank  in  this  world,  but  absolutely;  a  thinking,  self- 
governing,  worshiping,  heaven-destined  creature ;  fitted  for 
any  position  in  society  in  this  world,  content  with  any  that  is 
allotted  him,  and  dignifying  the  meanest  by  carrying  into  it 
the  disinterested  rectitude  and  piety  which  adorn  the  highest. 
This  is  the  perfection  which  Christianity  proposes,  and 
of  which  it  exhibits  a  pattern  in  Christ,  the  meek  and  lowly, 
the  holy,  harmless,  undefilcd,  and  separate  from  sinners ; 
whose  spirit  was  that  of  active  and  universal  love;  whose 
life  was  philanthropy ;  whose  death  was  a  sacrifice  of  him- 
self, the  just  for  the  unjust;  whose  kingdom  was  not  of  this 
world,  and  yet  the  greatest  benefaction  of  this  world.  This 
Son  of  God,  contented  with  any  condition,  ready  for  any 
service,  superior  to  all  temptation,  despising  all  selfishness, 
patient  of  any  suffering,  who  walked  among  men  more  as 
some  guardian  angel  from  some  superior  sphere,  than  as 
sharer  of  their  lot,  and  yet  who  felt  with  them,  lived  for 
them,  planned,  toiled,  denied  himself  for  them,  more  than 
any  of  the  race  had  ever  done ;  —  this  is  the  pattern  of 
human  perfection  which  God  has  placed  before  his  children. 
To  be  thus  is  to  be  what  the  text  calls  "  perfect  in  Christ 
Jesus."  To  make  men  such  is  the  object  of  the  spiritual 
providence  administered  through  the  gospel.  When  it  has 
achieved  this  object,  it  will  have  created  a  condition  of  so- 
21  * 


246        OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 

ciety  well  worthy  to  be  called  "  a  new  creation ;  "  surpass- 
ing the  best-regulated  communities  the  earth  has  yet  seen, 
iu  those  very  requisites  of  social  order  and  worldly  prosper- 
ity, for  the  sake  of  which  the  leaders  of  the  world  have  been 
willing  to  stigmatize  Christianity  as  an  impracticable  theory 
and  a  melancholy  delusion. 

And  yet  this  is  not  the  chief  nor  the  final  object.  As  the 
gospel  does  not  approach  men  as  the  children  of  earth,  but 
as  children  of  God,  not  as  subjects  of  human  society,  but  as 
heirs  of  an  immortal  inheritance,  so  it  is  not  satisfied  with 
fitting  them  for  the  most  perfect  society  on  earth.  It  has 
thus  accomplished  its  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is;  there 
yet  remains  that  of  the  life  which  is  to  come.  The  human 
being  enters  upon  its  spiritual  career  on  earth,  and  enjoys 
it,  —  breathing  the  gales  and  odors  of  heaven  even  amid  the 
fogs  and  darkness  of  these  sublunary  valleys.  But  its  ful- 
ness of  glory  is  in  reserve  ;  the  work  of  its  spiritual  eman- 
cipation is  complete  only  when  it  is  presented  faultless 
there  before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with  exceeding  joy  ; 
when  it  has  entered  upon  the  joys  which  eye  hath  not  seen, 
ear  hath  not  heard,  nor  the  heart  of  man  conceived  ;  joys 
which  God  hath  prepared  for  those  who  love  him,  and  which 
behmg  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect. 

Sucli  being  the  object,  our  text  designates  the  "  preaching 
of  Christ "  as  the  means  of  the  Christian  ministry.  This 
expression  is  used  in  a  twofold  sense  in  the  New  Testament, 
referring  sometimes  to  the  Savior  himself  in  his  character 
and  offices,  and  eometimes  to  his  religion. 

When  we  apply  it  to  his  religion,  and  say  that  it  has 
power  to  accomplish  the  great  end  of  which  we  have  spoken, 
the  important  idea  to  be  kept  in  view  is  this  —  that  we  are 
to  preach  religion  as  peculiarly  and  distinctly  his  religion, 
resting  on  his  authority    as   a  divine  messenger ;    that  we 


OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY,        247 

represent  his  doctrines  as  matters  of  revelation,  not  as 
truths  to  be  sustained  by  human  reason ;  his  precepts  as 
commands  from  the  Supreme  Lawgiver,  to  be  obeyed,  on 
the  crround  of  rightful  law,  not  on  the  ground  that  we  can 
show  them  to  be  right  or  expedient ;  his  sanctions  as 
annunciations  from  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  not  as  the 
conclusions  of  a  probable  reasoning,  or  the  suggestions  of 
enlightened  conscience.  This  is  the  thought  to  be  insisted 
on.  We  are  to  preach  Christianity.  Man  requires  a  law  ; 
Christianity  is  the  supreme  law,  and  it  must  be  so  pre- 
sented in  order  to  its  full  effect.  No  man  preaches  Christ 
who  contents  himself  with  setting  forth  the  specula- 
tions and  conclusions  of  his  own  mind  on  the  great  ques- 
tions of  divinity  and  ethics,  with  discussing  and  teaching 
theories  of  the  divine  government  and  human  nature,  the 
excellences  and  obligations  of  virtue,  and  the  ingredients 
and  methods  of  spiritual  advancement  and  happiness.  He 
may  do  this  correctly,  and  yet,  having  done  it  on  grounds 
of  argument  independent  of  the  Savior's  authority,  it  wants 
a  Christian  Savior,  and  is  by  no  means  preaching  Christ. 
And,  for  this  reason,  though  he  may  do  it  correctly,  he  can- 
not do  it  with  effect,  for  he  wields  no  power  but  his  own 
adroitness  in  argument,  and  his  own  reputation  for  wisdom. 
He  is  backed  by  nothing  stronger  than  himself.  He  stands 
in  need  of  a  far  mightier  power,  —  the  power  of  express 
revelation,  the  authority  of  a  divine  teacher. 

While  men  had  nothing  better,  nothing  else,  than  their 
own  exertions  of  mind  to  depend  upon,  it  was  right  that 
they  should  rely  on  them  ;  and  they  did  so  with  a  sagacity 
and  eloquence  which  have  made  the  names  of  many  ancient 
sages  immortal.  But  it  all  resulted  in  nothing.  It  will 
result  in  nothing  now,  if  the  teachers  of  morals,  like  them, 
rely  on  their  own  minds.     They  cannot  hope  to  argue  with 


248        OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 

greater  ability,  or  plead  with  greater  impressiveness,  than 
Socrates,  Plato,  Seneca,  or  Tully,  to  mention  no  more; 
but  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  are  greater  than 
they,  and  have  won  more  souls  to  virtue,  —  for  they  have 
appealed  to  an  authority  which  these  men  possessed  not,  and 
have  had  their  weakness  made  strong  in  a  divine  power,  to 
which  those  more  gifted  worthies  could  not  appeal.  It  is 
not  ancient  Platonism,  nor  modern  Eclecticism,  neither  the 
dogmas  of  the  dark  ages,  nor  the  metaphysics  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  nor  the  mysticism  of  any  century,  that 
is  to  speak  strongly  to  the  hearts  of  men,  and  bring  them 
home  to  God.  It  is  Christianity.  It  is  the  simple  truth  of 
Jesus,  spoken  on  his  authority,  proclaimed  as  a  direct  mes- 
sage from  God,  illustrated  and  made  effective  by  his  life 
and  death. 

Illustrated  and  made  effective  by  his  life  and  death ;  — 
this  is  essential  to  the  full  preaching  of  his  religion.  Such 
is  the  inseparable  connection  of  the  Savior  with  his  doctrine, 
that  it  can  never  be  appreciated  or  effective,  unless  accom- 
panied by  the  preaching  of  himself  in  his  character  and 
offices.  For,  as  we  have  already  seen,  Christ  is  the  pattern 
of  the  perfection  to  be  wrought  out.  There  is  no  other 
model  with  which  men  can  compare  themselves ;  the  idea 
of  what  they  are  to  arrive  at  is  nowhere  else  portrayed  in  a 
distinct,  vivid,  encouraging  form.  Men  must  distinctly 
know  what  they  are  to  become ;  and  no  description  in 
words,  no  command  or  exhortation,  could  so  inform  them, 
as  that  living  example.     They  might  read  their  duty  in  his 

word  — 

"  Bvit  in  his  lifo  the  law  appears 

Drawn  out  in  living  characters." 

Christ  is  also  a  Lawgiver,  bringing  to  us,  from  tne  univer- 
sal   Father,  that    rule  of  holiness,    without   conformity    to 


OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.       249 

which  no  one  can  see  the  Lord.  This  authority  of  the  law- 
giver must  be  proclaimed,  and  acknowledged,  and  submitted 
to,  or  the  law  of  perfection  never  can  be  observed. 

Christ  is  also  the  divine  Teacher;  and  there  is  no  acqui- 
sition of  the  wisdom  requisite  to  guide  and  prompt  the  soul 
in  its  spiritual  aspirations,  except  from  the  sublime  truth 
and  inspiring  promises  which  he  promulgates. 

Christ  is  the  Savior,  the  suffering  and  the  interceding; 
and  there  is  no  motive  to  soften  the  human  heart,  subdue 
the  wayward  will,  overcome  the  earthly  and  selfish  tenden- 
cies of  its  perverse  nature  and  a  corrupting  world,  like 
those  drawn  from  his  constraining  love,  his  disinterested 
toils,  his  death  of  agony,  and  his  offices  of  perpetual  grace. 

Christ  is  the  Judge  of  men;  the  Father  hath  given  him 
authority  to  execute  judgment ;  and  if  they  are  to  stand 
before  his  bar  to  receive  at  last  according  to  the  deeds 
done  in  the  body,  it  is  needful  that  they  now  acknowledge 
and  honor  him;  that  now,  walking  by  that  word  of  his 
which  is  to  judge  them  at  the  last  day,  their  consciences 
may  anticipate  his  decision  and  save  their  souls  from  shame. 

It  is  by  thus  setting  Christ  before  men  as  their  Teacher, 
their  Example,  their  Lawgiver,  Redeemer,  and  Judge,  and 
as  most  intimately  related  to  them  in  all  his  offices  of  power 
and  love,  that  men  are  to  be  brought  to  understand  and 
aspire  after  the  perfection  which  he  sets  before  them. 
Reverence  for  his  commission,  admiration  of  his  divine 
purity,  gratitude  for  his  inestimable  services,  love  for  his 
love,  and  a  longing  to  know  and  dwell  with  him,  —  these, 
and  all  the  sentiments  which  belong  to  so  high,  so  peculiar, 
so  affecting  a  relation  as  that  of  a  soul  to  its  Redeemer, 
operate  as  nothing  else  has  ever  done  to  excite  the  undy- 
ing desire  and  determination  to  live  the  life  of  the  Spirit, 
that,  when  absent  from  the  body,  they  may  be  present  with 


250        OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTKY, 

the  Lord.  And,  O,  how  marvellously  has  this  connection 
with  Jesus  wrought  upon  the  human  character  !  Mistaken 
as  it  may  have  been,  obscured  by  mystery,  made  wild  by 
fanaticism,  forced  into  the  service  of  hypocrisy,  supersti- 
tion, and  spiritual  pride, — yet  never  has  it  failed  to  exalt 
and  purify  the  souls  in  which  the  sense  of  it  resided;  err 
as  men  might,  their  nearness  to  him  had  a  sanctifying  pow- 
er; by  being  with  him,  they  became  like  him;  if  they  only 
touched  the  hem  of  his  garment,  virtue  came  out  to  them ; 
and  whenever  and  wherever,  with  simple-hearted  reliance, 
they  have  taken  him  for  their  Master  and  walked  in  his 
path,  they  have  seemed  like  a  company  of  angels  returning 
to  their  home. 

We  have  seen  what  is  that  perfection  of  which  the  text 
speaks  as  the  object  of  the  Christian  ministry,  and  how  the 
preaching  of  Christ  is  to  be  the  means  of  effecting  it. 
There  is  still  another  point,  thrown  out  by  the  apostle, 
necessary  to  be  attended  to,  in  order  to  the  full  develop- 
ment of  his  idea.  If  the  perfection  to  be  wrought  out  be, 
as  we  have  seen,  that  of  individual  character,  then,  not  only 
is  Christianity  to  be  preached  in  the  manner  described,  but 
also  with  a  particular  view  to  that  specific  result ;  "  warning 
every  man  and  teaching  every  man."  This  is  a  view  to 
which  too  great  importance  can  hardly  be  attached.  If,  as 
unquestionably  is  the  fact,  Christianity  can  accomplish  its 
purpose  in  the  world  only  by  its  influence  over  individuals, 
then  it  is  essential  that  those  who  administer  it  take  care  to 
direct  its  influence  to  individuals.  And  it  may  be  fairly 
inquired,  when  we  speak  of  the  causes  of  the  yet  unsatis- 
factory ascendency  of  the  gospel  in  the  world,  whether 
much  is  not  to  be  attributed  to  the  neglect  of  this  consider- 
ation ;  to  the  circumstance  that  Christian  truth  is  ad- 
dressed to  society  as  a  mass,  rather  tlian  to  its  individual 


OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.        251 

members ;  that  the  congregation  is  preached  to,  rather  than 
the  persons  who  compose  it ;  and  that,  through  this  general- 
izing process,  tliis  failing  to  individualize,  and  circumscribe, 
and  apply,  the  truth  is  diluted  and  enfeebled. 

Religion  is  a  personal  thing ;  character,  accountableness, 
reward,  punishment,  happiness,  all  are  personal  things.  If 
one  have  not  personal  religion,  he  has  no  religion.  He  can 
have  it  only  by  the  immediate  application  of  Christian 
truth  to  his  own  heart  and  character ;  and  it  is  the  business 
of  him,  who  dispenses  that  truth,  to  do  it  in  such  manner, 
as  to  insure  that  immediate  application. 

So  true  is  this,  that  of  all  the  phrases  which  have  been 
used  to  express  the  design  of  the  ministry,  there  is  no  one 
that  so  exactly  describes  it  as  this,  —  the  design  of  the  min- 
istry is,  the  promotion  of  personal  religion. 

What  else  shall  we  say  ?  Is  it  to  uphold  the  church  ?  to 
spread  Christianity  ?  to  maintain  the  order  of  society  ?  to  save 
souls  ?  to  make  men  better  ?  to  regenerate  the  world  ?  How 
is  either  of  these  to  be  done,  except  by  making  individual 
men  religious  ?  State  the  case  as  we  please ;  extend  the 
sphere  of  action  and  influence  as  widely  as  wc  may;  make  it 
to  cover  nations  and  stretch  through  ages,  to  overturn  univer- 
sal heathenism,  and  bring  on  the  full  millennium  of  the  hu- 
man race, —  it  all  comes  back  to  this,  personal  religion;  for 
it  is  just  so  far  as  this  prevails,  and  no  farther,  that  Chris- 
tianity spreads,  and  its  benign  effects  are  realized. 

Let  the  minister,  then,  direct  his  efforts  to  this  one  object ; 
let  this  be  the  alpha  and  omega,  the  beginning  and  the 
end,  of  all  his  work. 

If  any  one  supposes  that  this  would  be  to  narrow  the 
sphere  of  ministerial  action,  which  ought  rather  to  be  con- 
strued as  extending  to  all  the  institutions  of  man  and  so- 
ciety, to   letters,  and  science,   and    education,  in   all    their 


252        OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY, 

forms ;  that  the  rule  just  laid  down  would  withdraw  the 
patronage  and  service  of  the  minister  from  all  but  the  little 
round  of  technical  church  duty,  —  I  reply,  Not  at  all. 
This  has  been  provided  for  in  the  spirit  of  the  remarks 
already  made.  There  is  no  project  devised,  no  enterprise 
set  on  foot,  for  the  elevation  of  man,  that  should  not  have 
Christ's  servant  for  its  advocate.  If  he  be  found  lagging 
behind  when  society  is  pressing  on,  he  is  false  to  his  profes- 
sion and  to  his  Master.  Earth  has  no  such  friend  to  uni- 
versal human  improvement  as  Christianity.  But,  then,  he  is 
equally  false,  if  he  substitute  those  means  of  improvement 
which  ought  to  be  the  accompaniments  and  result  of  reli- 
gious principle,  in  the  place  of  that  religious  principle  which 
is  before  all,  beyond  all,  and  above  all  ;  if  he  allow  this  sec- 
ondary action,  this  external,  and  it  may  be  superficial,  it 
may  be  unprincipled,  devotion  to  intellectual  and  social  ad- 
vancement, to  usurp  the  place  and  the  honors  which  are  due 
to  devotion  to  God.  No.  These  are  all  well ;  but  they  might 
have  existed  without  a  revelation  from  God,  or  the  toils  and 
sacrifices  of  the  Redeemer.  They  are  all  well ;  but  they  are 
compatible  with  a  heathen  state  of  society,  and  are  upheld 
by  many  in  Christian  lands  who  pretend  not  to  be  more 
sanctified  than  heathen,  or  to  think  that  the  civilization  of 
a  Christian  people  is  better  than  that  of  a  pagan.  Tliey 
may  be,  they  must  be,  brought  into  subjection  to  religious 
truth,  made  subsidiary  to  the  grand  ends  of  the  Christian 
institutions,  "  schoolmasters,  to  lead  to  Christ ;  "  but  they 
are  not  the  peculiar  object  of  these  institutions.  First  the 
kingdom  of  God,  then  these.  They  will  help  to  strengthen, 
establish,  adorn  that  kingdom  ;  therefore  they  are  to  be  advcv 
cated  by  the  servants  of  the  kingdom  ;  but  that  kingdom  it 
is  which  is  first  of  all  to  be  built  up,  its  spiritual  life  first 
of  all  to  be  kindled  ;  and  all  the  glories  of  all  the  kingdoms 


OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.        253 

of  the  earth  would  poorly  compensate  the  apostle  of  Christ, 
who  should  substitute  the  other  inferior  means  of  human 
perfection  in  the  place  of  this. 

And  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  the  method  we  speak 
of  was  that  of  Jesus  Christ  himself.  He  called  Nathanael 
by  name,  he  summoned  Levi  from  his  seat  of  public  office, 
he  took  Peter  and  John  from  their  fishing-boats,  and  sepa- 
rated Paul  from  the  Pharisees.  Bent  as  he  was  on  affecting 
the  whole  world,  powerful  to  this  end  as  was  his  public 
ministry  when  he  spake  words  of  divine  eloquence,  and  did 
works  of  divine  power  in  the  presence  of  wondering  thou- 
sands, yet  he.  knew  that  the  strength  of  his  action  and  the 
hope  of  his  success  lay  in  obtaining  a  lodgment  for  his  sys- 
tem in  individual  minds ;  in  enlisting,  not  the  general  good- 
will of  society,  but  the  whole  souls  of  a  few  of  its  members. 
And  it  needs  but  a  cursory  reading  of  the  Acts  and  the 
Epistles  to  perceive  how  the  apostles  also  laid  stress  on 
individual  action.  "They  taught  publicly  and  from  house 
to  house."  Paul  said  to  the  Ephesians,  "  I  ceased  not  day 
and  night  to  warn  every  onr  of  you  with  tears." 

Indeed,  how  otherwise  could  the  new  religion  prevail, 
than  by  being  received  by  one  individual  after  another? 
The  general  mass  of  hearers  might  be  affected  to  a  certain 
degree  by  the  reasonings  and  appeals  which  they  heard  ;  and 
it  is  doubtless  true  that  pagan  doctrines  and  pagan  morality 
were  modified  by  this  circumstance ;  but  the  pagan  world 
did  not  become  believers  through  this  operation.  So,  also, 
at  the  time  of  the  reformation,  the  preaching  of  the  re- 
formers produced  a  salutary  effect  on  the  mass  of  the  com- 
munity beyond  the  Protestants  themselves,  and  modified  the 
condition  of  the  Catholic  church.  But  Christianity  and 
Protestantism  never  prevailed  a  step  beyond  the  list  of  indi- 
vidual converts.     In  all  our  congregations,  in  like  manner, 


254        OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRT.- 

there  is  a  general  salutary  influence  from  the  preaching  of 
the    gospel   on   the  mass   of  the  hearers  ;  the  standard  of 
thought  and  of  action  is  higher  with  them    than  it  would 
otherwise  be.     But  it  does  not  rise  to  the  Christian  measure  ; 
it  does  not  pretend  to  do   so.     This    secondary    effect  of 
Christian  institutions  is  not  to  satisfy  us,  as  if  it  were  the 
whole  effect  designed.     We  want  the  direct  effect ;  and  we 
may  be  sure  that  religion  is  successfully  administered  only 
when  this  direct  effect  is  discerned.     Yet  we  are  too  ready 
to   rest  content  with  the  secondary,  the  reflected,  neutral- 
ized, negative  operation  ;    as  if  this  divine  apparatus,  with 
its  power  to  re-create  the  dead,  were  put  into  our  hands 
only  to  bring  about  that  moderate  morality  which  the  pru- 
dence of  this  world  teaches ;   as  if  the  charge  of  souls  were 
committed  to  us  only  that  we  might  be  able  to  say,  "  To 
be  sure,  we  cannot  name   any  individuals  that  have  been 
affected  by  the  truth  we  preach,  but  we  hope  that  we  have 
not  wrought  in  vain." 

God  forbid  that  this  hope,  indefinite  as  it  may  be,  should 
be  taken  away  from  us  ;  it  is  too  precious.  In  the  weakness 
of  our  hearts,  in  the  trials  of  our  toil,  in  the  weariness  and 
despondency  of  our  too  often  disappointed  souls,  this  vague 
hope  that  we  have  not  labored  in  vain  is  someiimes  the  only 
balm  that  remains  to  cheer  us,  and  in  our  secret  thanks- 
givings we  bless  God  that  even  that  is  vouchsafed  to  us. 
But  is  it  not  worth  inquiry,  whether,  if  we  aimed  at  more, 
we  should  not  attain  more  ?  If  our  object  is  general  and 
vague,  must  not  our  effect  be  such?  If  it  be  no  part  of  our 
plan  to  produce  individual  results,  is  it  strange  that  we  do 
not  produce  them  ?     As  we  sow  we  must  reap. 

I  have  thus  glanced  at  the  several  points  suggested  by 
the  pregnant  words  of  our  text.  They  are  points  of  urgent 
interest  to  all  who  are  concerned  in  the  prosperity  of  our 


OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.        255 

religious  institutions,  and  the  progress  of  Christianity  in  the 
world.  They  are  peculiarly  interesting  on  an  occasion 
which  calls  to  mind  the  importance  and  duty  of  the  Chris- 
tian minister.  We  remind  ourselves,  and  we  tell  our  young 
brother,  that  the  end  of  our  calling  is  the  spiritual  progress 
and  perfection  of  men ;  that  he  and  we  are  agents  in  carry- 
ing forward  that  great  moral  re-creation  of  the  world  which 
Christ  began,  and  for  which  the  saints  have  toiled  and  suf- 
fered in  all  ages ;  that  we  are  operators  in  that  course  of 
spiritual  providence,  by  which  God  has  ordained  to  accom- 
plish in  his  children  the  end  of  their  being ;  that  the  means 
to  be  used  by  us  are,  the  faithful  promulgation  of  that  doc- 
trine which  Christ  taught  with  authority  from  God,  accom- 
panied by  all  the  influences  of  light,  attraction,  and  power, 
which  are  imparted  to  it  by  his  own  character  and  his  rela- 
tions to  man ;  and  that  the  manner  of  effecting  this  is  by 
its  adaptation  and  application  to  men ;  not  in  the  general 
mass,  but  as  individuals,  independent,  responsible  individ- 
uals. That  ministry  cannot  be  wholly  unblest  which  is 
conformed  to  this  idea.  Those  institutions  cannot  fall 
\vhich  are  built  upon   this  model. 

But  when  we  say  this,  we  bear  in  mind,  and  must  not 
leave  the  subject  without  remarking  it,  that  these  institu- 
tions are  not  simply  that  of  public  worship,  and  that  the 
power  of  the  office  is  to  be  found  elsewhere  as  well  as  in 
the  pulpit.  It  resides  in  the  whole  influence  of  that  sacred 
connection  which  binds  pastor  and  flock  in  one  spiritual 
bond.  We  always  remember  this  when  we  speak  of  the 
efficacy  of  preaching.  For  what  is  preaching  ?  Not  the 
oratory  of  a  high  pulpit,  the  formal  rhetoric  of  an  official 
man  in  his  public  place,  the  elaborate  discussion  of  a  holy 
day.  Many  seem  to  think  that  there  can  be  no  preaching 
except  in  the  church,  before  a  great  congregation,  with  a 


256        OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 

chosen  text,  and  a  stately  array  of  method  and  periods. 
But  is  the  preaching  of  the  servants  thrust  into  such  narrow 
limits,  when  the  Master  preached  on  the  mountain,  in  the 
boat,  by  the  way-side,  in  the  court  of  the  Pharisees,  and  in 
the  sitting-room  of  Mary  and  Martha?  Surely  the  servant 
is  a  preacher  every  where ;  his  whole  pastoral  walk  is  a  ser- 
mon, every  house  in  his  parish  is  a  church,  every  parlor  a 
pulpit,  every  day  a  Sabbath.  He  may  deliver  no  sermon  out 
of  season,  but  he  will  preach  in  season  and  out  of  season  ; 
and  being  able,  in  this  more  private  ministry,  to  adapt  him- 
self more  entirely  to  the  wants  of  those  whom  he  addresses, 
he  will  teach  and  warn  every  man  more  successfully,  with 
closer  appeals  to  the  conscience,  with  heartier  urgency  to 
the  affections,  with  more  irresistible  arguments  for  truth  and 
God.  The  faithful  pastor  is  the  most  powerful  preacher. 
There  are  no  sermons,  in  chapel  or  cathedral,  like  those 
which  drop  from  his  loving  lips  when  the  child  is  on  his 
knee,  or  the  silence  of  the  death-chamber  is  broken  by  the 
low  tone  of  his  prayer.  He  who  thus  preaches  every 
where,  by  example  as  well  as  by  word,  by  life  as  well  as  by 
doctrine,  preaches  better  also  in  the  pulpit ;  for  then  his 
voice  is  not  that  of  a  public  orator,  but  of  a  friend  and 
brc».her  ;  his  counsel  is  not  the  official  dictation  of  a  public 
functionary,  but  the  advice  of  a  sympathizing  friend. 
Hence  the  power  of  the  ministry  is  as  much  out  of  the 
pulpit  as  in  it,  and  we  are  always  to  include  the  pastoral 
work  in  that  preaching  of  Christ  by  which  the  salvation  and 
perfection  of  men  are  to  be  effected. 

Let  us  have  faith  in  its  power.  Why  is  it  powerless, 
except  through  our  skepticism  and  timidity  ?  how  hindered, 
but  by  the  unbelief  of  those  who  speak  and  those  who  hear  1 
Let  us  reverence  the  great  end  for  which  it  was  instituted. 
Of  what  use  to  us  the  mighty  apparatus,  excepting  as  we  are 


OBJECT  AND  MEANS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.        257 

led  by  it  to  know  and  seek  our  personal  sanctification  and 
perfection  1  Let  us  realize  the  connection  into  which  it 
introduces  us  with  the  Son  of  God.  Of  what  avail  to  us 
his  mediation,  his  law,  his  example,  his  encouragement,  if 
we  follow  him  not  into  the  spiritual  life,  and  fail  of  becom- 
ing joint  heirs  with  him  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  the 
eternal  benediction  of  the  Father  ? 

Let  the  servants  of  Christ  take  heed  how  they  speak  ; 
let  the  people  take  heed  how  they  hear.  Let  them  go  hand 
in  hand,  following  "  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth,'' 
and  helping  each  other  onward  till  they  arrive  together, 
perfect  in  Christ  Jesus,  to  take  their  place  with  the  re- 
deemed and  glorified  in  heaven. 


22  • 


SERMON    XVI.* 


THE   CHRISTIAN    MINISTER   A   DEFENDER  OF   THE 
GOSPEL. 

FHILIPPIANS    I.   17 

I   AM  SET  FOR  THE    DEFE^■C•E   OF   THE    GOSPEL. 

In  the  act  for  which  we  are  now  assembled,  we  commem- 
orate the  grace  of  Almighty  God  in  making  to  mankind  a 
revelation  of  his  will,  and  in  establishing  through  Jesus 
Christ  those  institutions  which  shall  conduct  to  salvation 
and  heaven.  We  do  something,  in  this  act,  towards  per- 
petuating those  institutions  and  rendering  them  effectual. 
When  Jesus,  their  founder,  left  the  world,  he  committed 
them,  and  with  them  the  hopes  of  the  human  race,  to  his 
eleven  apostles.  They  were  his  ambassadors  to  the  world. 
They  were  guardians  for  him  of  the  dispensation  which  he 
had  set  up.  And  when  they  went  to  their  rest,  —  some  by 
fire,  and  some  by  crucifixion,  and  one  by  a  good  old  age,  — 
they  transmitted  the  holy  charge  to  other  hands,  and  thus 
sent  it  down  from  age  to  age.  The  race  of  those  who  have 
taken   it  up  has   never  become   extinct.     Every  man  who 

*  Deli\erod  at  llie  ordination  of  Rov.  Cliandlor  Robbins,  over  the 
Second  Congregational  Church,  in  Boston,  December  4,  1833. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER  A  DEFENDER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.    259 

joins  himself  to  the  company  of  the  preachers,  and  takes 
charge  of  one  of  the  Savior's  little  flocks,  is  one  more 
added  to  the  band  of  those  who  are  "  set  for  the  defence  of 
the  gospel."  Another  joins  that  sacred  band  to-day  ;  and 
as  we  help  him  to  gird  on  his  armor,  and  lay  upon  him  the 
hands  of  charge  and  congratulation,  it  may  not  be  unsea- 
sonable to  speak  of  the  nature  of  his  enterprise  and  office, 
under  the  point  of  view  presented  by  the  apostle  in  our  text. 
What  is  it  that  he  is  to  defend?  Against  what  enemies? 
With  what  modes  of  action  and  influence?  These  are  the 
three  points  of  my  discourse. 

I.  WJiat  is  it  icJiich  he  has  undertaken  to  defend?  Of 
what  is  he  the  minister  ?  The  answer  is,  A  revelation 
FROM  God  ;  a  revelation  of  truth,  duty,  and  eternal  life. 
This  he  is  pledged  to  proclaim  and  advocate.  He  is  to  pro- 
pound its  doctrines,  enforce  its  law,  excite  by  its  sanctions. 

Herein  lies  the  peculiarity  of  his  position.  Other  men 
have  taught  truth,  have  inculcated  duty,  have  argued  for  im- 
mortality. But  he  speaks  of  them  as  matters  of  revelation  ; 
he  speaks  as  bearing  communications  respecting  them  from 
God.  And  thus  he  is  set  apart  from  all  other  teachers,  as 
the  gospel  is  set  apart  from  all  other  systems.  He  does  not 
advocate  it,  because  he  judges  it  to  be  upon  the  whole  a  bet- 
ter doctrine  than  that  of  the  Stoics  or  Epicureans ;  or  as 
one  which  is  very  likely  to  be  true,  or,  if  not,  so  useful  that 
it  may  be  well  to  teach  it  to  common  people  as  true.  But 
he  takes  it,  explicitly  and  absolutely,  as  the  revealed  truth 
of  God;  not  as  human  opinion,  but  as  divine  law;  not  as 
what  he  has  reasoned  out,  but  what  he  has  received.  This 
is  the  circumstance  to  which  it  owes  its  value.  It  Mould  be 
worth  little  more  than  the  venerable  philosophy  of  the  an- 
cient sages,  if  it  were,  like  them,  the  mere  offspring  of 
human  opinion.     To  this,  too,  it  owes  its   power ;  for  its 


260  THE   CHRISTIAN   MINISTER 

doctrine  comes  with  authority ;  not  as  the  intuitive  wisdom 
of  this  man,  or  the  plausible  theory  of  that,  dependent  on 
the  logical  skill  of  him  who  advances  it,  having,  therefore, 
no  more  weight  than  is  derived  from  his  power  of  reasoning, 
and  which  may  be  reasoned  down  as  it  was  reasoned  up ; 
but  an  authoritative  message  from  the  infinite  Father  of 
truth. 

Undoubtedly  there  are  propositions  relative  to  the  gospel 
which  are  mere  matter  of  opinion,  and  which  must  be  dis- 
cussed as  such,  if  discussed  at  all,  with  great  self-diffidence. 
But  that  the  gospel  itself  is  a  revelation  of  truth,  a  law  of 
duty,  and  a  promise  of  life,  is  not  one  of  those  propositions, 
and  ought  not  to  be  so  regarded  by  him  who  has  undertaken 
its  ministry.  Hence,  in  preaching  its  doctrines,  they  are  to 
be  treated  in  the  way  of  explanation  and  application ;  — 
not  to  be  taught  as  the  instructions  of  human  intellect,  and 
shown  to  be  probably  true  according  to  the  light  of  nature ; 
—  but  simply  proved  to  have  been  taught  by  Christ,  and 
then  from  other  sources  illustrated.  Its  duties  he  will  treat 
in  the  same  way,  as  binding,  because  the  commandment  of 
God,  —  not  simply  as  what  is  advisable  and  expedient  for 
the  good  of  man,  and  the  sanctions  of  a  future  state,  —  not, 
like  the  arguing  of  the  old  sages,  as  being  probably  thus  and 
thus,  according  to  the  best  light  we  have,  but  as  being  cer- 
tainly thus,  because  we  have  absolutely  the  best  light.  This 
is  what  is  done  by  him  who  defends  the  gospel.  And  he, 
who,  instead  of  this,  puts  the  whole  up  to  debate,  states  it  all 
as  so  much  matter  open  to  discussion,  on  which  either  side 
may  with  almost  equal  propriety  be  defended,  —  that  man 
betrays  the  cause  which  he  undertook  to  advocate ;  he  tre.ats 
as  an  unsettled  question  what  he  engaged  to  enforce  as  di- 
vine truth,  and  places  the  whole  at  the  mercy  of  his  own 
didactic  skill.     And  what  can  be  the  result  in  the  minds  of 


A  DEFENDER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  361 

liis  hearers,  but  a  state  of  indifference  and  uncertainty  T 
There  can  be  no  strong  faith,  —  therefore  no  strong  interest 
—  therefore  no  strong  influence  of  Christian  principle  —  no 
high  action  of  Christian  hope.  There  are  grand  but  simple 
verities,  through  whose  power  the  soul  becomes  mighty  ;  but 
if  they  are  regarded  only  as  theses  for  discussion,  problems 
for  theoretical  solution,  they  have  lost  their  soul-moving  and 
life-giving  energy.  Faith  is  powerful  just  in  proportion  as 
it  becomes  assurance.  If  ever  Christian  truth  has  reformed 
the  sinful  and  strengthened  the  tempted,  given  comfort  to 
the  desponding  and  triumph  to  the  martyr,  overcome  the 
world  and  regenerated  kingdoms,  it  has  been  because  it  was 
received  as  the  certain  declaration  of  God,  —  because  his 
voice  was  heard  uttering  the  law,  proclaiming  the  promise, 
and  issuing  the  threat.  If  the  minister  is  ever  to  see  the 
fruit  of  his  labors  in  conversion  from  sin,  in  the  growth  of 
holiness,  in  the  consolation  and  peace  of  a  heavenly  hope, 
it  must  be,  it  can  only  be,  by  persuading  his  hearers  to  re- 
ceive what  he  delivers  as  the  disciples  received  the  preach- 
ing of  Paul,  —  "  not  as  the  word  of  men,  but  as  it  is  in 
truth,  the  word  of  God."  And  if,  with  intent  to  redeem  the 
world,  ambassadors  should  go  forth  merely  declaring  to  men 
what  are  their  own  opinions  on  great  subjects  of  truth  and 
duty,  instead  of  announcing  the  message  as  from  God,  the 
disciples  of  Plato  or  Confucius  would  convert  the  nations  as 
soon  as  they.  No ;  Christ  has  taught  us  better.  "  I  have 
given  to  them  the  words  thoc  gavest  to  me,  and  thev  have 
known  surely  that  thou  didst  send  me."  And  therefore 
they  are  not  to  take  a  place  among  the  wise  and  the  dis- 
puters  of  this  world.  They  are  to  be  preachers  of  a  rev- 
elation. 

II.    Against  irhat  enemies  is  the  minister   to  defetid  this 
revelation  ?     This  was  our  second  question  ;  and  the  answer 


262  THE    CHRISTIAN    MTNISTER. 

is,  Against  all  who  oppose  its  truth,  neglect  its  duties^  and 
despise  its  sanctions.  These  are  the  enemies  of  the  gospel. 
They  are  to  be  answered,  rebuked,  converted,  made  its 
friends. 

He  has  taken  up  the  great  defence  of  Christianity,  and 
placed  himself  on  the  rampart  of  its  institutions.  He  has 
devoted  himself  to  the  promotion  of  its  interests.  Fervent- 
ly persuaded  that  it  is  from  God  —  that  it  teaches  the  truth 
of  truths  —  that  it  is  the  great  moral  power  of  the  world  — 
that  it  is  the  great  sustaining  hope  of  the  human  soul ;  — 
having  deeply  experienced  the  illumination  of  its  doctrine, 
the  sanctification  of  its  law,  and  the  glorious  peace  of  its 
promise,  he  longs  to  extend  its  benignant  sway  ;  and  he  ear- 
nestly inquires  what  are  the  hinderances  which  need  to  be 
removed. 

First,  he  discovers  those  who  set  themselves  against  its 
truth.  Infidelity  stands  in  the  way;  —  assuming  some- 
times the  garb  of  Philosophy,  speaking  lofty  words  of  wis- 
dom, and  pretending  to  look  down  .contemptuously  on  reve- 
lation as  unfavorable  to  the  development  of  the  intellect 
and  the  culture  of  manly  virtue ;  sometimes  in  a  garb  of 
depraved  and  coarse  malignity,  —  hating  the  gospel  for  its 
purity,  and  loud  in  its  words  of  audacious  calumny  and 
obscene  blasphemy.  Side  by  side  with  this  bold  assailant 
of  all  that  is  sacred  and  good,  he  sees  Indifference,  stand- 
ing in  the  way  of  the  light,  and  hindering  the  influence  of 
the  truth.  And  what  a  formidable  portion  of  the  commu- 
nity does  this  characterize !  resolutely  sunk  in  apathy, 
wholly  unconcerned  for  spiritual  good,  impeding  all  prog- 
ress, discouraging  all  exertion,  neither  entering  into  life 
themselves,  nor  permitting  others  to  enter.  How  many, 
alas  1  of  such  does  he  behold  among  those  who  rank  them- 
selves as  Christians !     How  many  of  his  Master's  foes  does 


A    DEFENDEE    OF    TIIK    GOSPEL. 


263 


he  discover  to  be  of  his  own  household  !  —  thwarting  by 
their  worldliness  and  coldness  all  projects  for  the  promotioa 
of  that  cause  which  nominally  they  favor  !  Witli  these,  and 
besides  these,  he  beholds  the  chief  enemy, —  the  miny-hcad- 
ed,  the  omnipresent  foe,  Sin,  —  in  its  infinite  forms  and  in- 
scrutable disguises,  —  subtle  as  the  serpent  in  the  garden,  and 
venomous  as°the  sting  of  death.  How  it  blinds  the  under- 
standing, hardens  the  heart,  perverts  the  conscience,  makes 
truth  distasteful,  and  the  thought  of  God  unwelcome  !  How 
it  rides  triumphant  in  high  places,  spreading  around  oppres- 
sion and  blighting,  turning  power  into  a  curse,  and  wealth 
into  a  fountain  of  corruption  !  How  it  steals,  like  a  pestilence, 
into  low  places,  and  rears  those  seminaries  of  depravity, 
which  make  the  good  tremble  for  the  very  existence  of  the 
social  fabric !  So  that,  with  the  institutions  of  the  gospel 
flourishing,  the  will  of  God  every  where  published,  the  won- 
derful fact  of  a  future  life  familiarly  known,  —  society  yet  lies 
deep  sunk  in  selfishness,  earthliness,  and  sensuality.  There 
is  much  to  be  done,  —  blessed  be  God,  there  is  much  doing  ! 

but  much  remains  to  be  done  to  make  the  community 

Christian,  in  that  true  and  sufficient  sense  which  shall  satisfy 
the  wishes  and  hopes  of  a  philanthropic  mind,  and  accom- 
plish the  purpose  of  the  Savior.  Much  is  to  be  done  before 
public  opinion  will  be  always  right,  every  man  honest  and 
temperate,  every  family  well  ordered  and  peaceful,  and  pen- 
itentiaries and  prisons  unnecessary.  Alas!  to  look  even 
upon  our  stated,  sober,  church-going  congregations,  how 
much  is  to  be  done  before  the  power  of  the  gospel  shall  be 
over  them  universally  and  purely  !  before  all  shall  have  parted 
with  their  sins,  and  become  devoted  followers  of  Jesus  ! 
before  every  house  shall  be  a  temple,  every  heart  an  altar,- 
every  hand  a  fountain  of  charity  and  trutli,  duty  and  heaven 
become  the  favorite  concerns  of  all  minds ! 


264  THE   CHRISTIAN    MINISTER 

And  who  is  to  bring  on  that  happy  day?  Who  is  to 
watch  and  toil  for  the  accomplishment  of  that  desirable  con- 
summation ?  Certainly  every  good  Christian  and  good  man 
will  join  his  prayers  and  his  labors.  But  if  it  be  asked, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  be  foremost  in  devising  and  effecting 
measures  for  the  enterprise,  —  certainly  it  must  be  answered. 
The  minister  of  Christ.  By  his  very  office  it  appertains  to 
him.  He  is  not  to  wait  till  he  is  called  forth  by  the  public 
voice ;  he  is  not  to  hold  back  till  urged  on  by  the  quicker 
zeal  of  others ;  he  is  not  to  consult  first  of  all  his  own  rep- 
utation and  the  fear  to  jeopard  his  influence.  He  is  to  be 
the  first  to  speak.  He  is  to  stand  in  the  front  rank  of  all 
opposition  to  the  foes  of  religion  and  man  ;  and  while  he 
seeks  to  "  give  offence  in  nothing,  that  the  ministry  be  not 
blamed,"  he  will  yet  be  prompt  to  cry  aloud  and  spare  not, 
as  a  leader,  not  a  follower,  in  the  camp  of  the  Lord,  against 
all  the  hosts  of  infidelity,  indifference,  and  sin. 

HI.  This  brings  us  to  our  third  question,  —  By  what 
method  is  he  to  effect  the  work  thus  allotted  him  7  And  here 
I  cannot  avoid  beginning  with  a  passing  remark  relative  to 
that  prime,  essential  matter,  the  spirit  which  he  is  to  main- 
tain. The  weapons  of  his  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  spirit- 
ual ;  and  if  he  contend  against  infidelity,  worldliness,  or 
sin,  with  carnal  weapons,  —  that  is,  in  any  spirit  but  the  se- 
rious, devout,  forbearing,  gentle  spirit  of  Christ,  —  he  be- 
comes himself  an  enemy,  instead  of  a  defender.  If  he  assail 
infidelity  with  the  ribaldry  and  indecency  with  which  infi- 
delity assaults  Christianity ;  if  he  denounce  his  erring 
fellow-men  with  the  disingenuousness  and  reviling  of  a  vul- 
gar  political  partisan  ;  if  he  treat  even  abandoned  sinners 
(whom  he  ought  to  convert)  with  indignant  outcry  and  vio- 
lent abuse,  —  he  fights  the  battle  for  Heaven  in  the  armor 
of   the   prince   of   darkness ;    he   takes    a   tone   no  more 


A  DEFEIiDER  OP  THE  GOSPEL.  265 

tolerable  in  a  messenger  of  the  cross,  than  would  be  the  blas- 
phemy of  the  damned  on  the  threshold  of  heaven.  Let  him 
remember  the  motto  given  by  the  aposlle,  — In  meekness  in- 
structing those  that  oppose  themselves ;  and  that  other  say- 
ing, —  If  any  man  have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none 
of  his. 

When  we  pass  beyond  this  remark  respecting  the  general 
spirit  of  his  ministry,  we  find  ourselves  embarrassed  by  the 
vastness  of  the  field  we  enter.  The  methods  by  which  he 
shall  advocate  and  advance  the  gospel,  whose  whole  life  and 
business  are  consecrated  to  that  work,  are  too  various  to 
allow  of  even  enumeration  in  the  time  before  us.  His  own 
personal  character  and  familiar  example  in  the  world,  are  to 
be  made  a  standing  argument  for  the  power  and  beauty  of 
Christian  principle.  His  conversation  among  men  must  be 
always  directed  with  ready  speech  to  recommend  and 
strengthen  the  cause  he  serves.  His  voice,  his  pen,  his 
time,  his  services,  his  purse,  must  be  ever  at  the  command 
of  any  projects  which  are  advanced  for  the  good  of  man- 
kind ;  and  he  must  show  that  Christianity  is  the  friend  of 
every  thing  excellent  by  being  himself  its  friend.  In  his 
pastoral  walks,  where  he  moves  among  his  people  as  their 
confidential  religious  friend,  he  has  peculiar  opportunities 
for  advancing  the  interests  of  religion,  —  such  as  no  other 
being  on  earth  can  possess,  and  such  as  he  could  possess  in 
no  other  relation.  For,  on  all  the  most  momentous  and 
trying  emergencies  of  life,  when  the  heart  is  most  suscepti- 
ble, and  cries  out  after  its  God  ;  in  the  sanctuary  of  do- 
mestic life,  in  the  privacy  of  the  sick  chamber,  at  the  bed- 
side of  the  dying,  —  wherever  and  whenever  the  soul  feels 
most,  —  there  he  may  be;  there  he  may  plead  for  Christ 
and  heaven ;  there  he  may  take  hold  of  immortal  sympa- 
thies and  immortal  wants,  and  win  those  to  God  who  might 
23 


266  THJ-,    CHRISTIAN    MINISTER 

elsewhere  be  inaccessible.  And  besides  these  varioua 
means  and  occasions,  there  still  remains  the  public  assembly 
and  the  house  of  prayer,  where  he  stands  forth  as  the  rec- 
ognized ambassador  of  Christ,  pleading,  in  the  face  of 
heaven  and  earth,  the  cause  of  truth,  duty,  and  life. 

On  all  these  points,  it  is  impossible,  as  I  said,  to  dwell.  I 
make  a  selection,  and  illustrate  but  one  of  them,  —  the  last. 
T  would  show  how  this  important  function  of  preaching  will 
take  its  character  from  the  consideration  that  he  is  set  for 
the  defence  of  the  gospel ;  and  this  both  as  regards  the  sub- 
jects and  the  manner  of  it. 

With  respect  to  the  subjects,  it  will  be,  as  already  inti- 
mated, the  preaching  of  the  gospel  ;  not  of  his  own 
opinions  gathered  from  observation  and  reflection ;  not  of 
disquisitions  in  ethical  philosophy ;  not  of  the  minor  pro- 
prieties and  conventional  courtesies  of  life,  or  the  superficial 
moralities  of  society ;  but  of  the  written  gospel,  as  a  reve- 
lation from  God  ;  expounding  its  records,  illustrating  its 
propositions,  developing  and  elucidating  its  eternal  princi- 
ples, upholding  them  in  their  evidences  against  cavil  and 
objection,  and  urging  them  in  their  in^ftuences  on  the  reason, 
affections,  and  conscience,  as  the  only  truth  which  can 
make  wise  unto  salvation.  In  like  manner  he  will  treat  its 
duties ;  not  as  diffidently  advising  that  course  which  seems 
to  him  on  the  whole  expedient,  honorable,  or  rational ;  but 
as  pronouncing  the  law  of  God,  declaring  the  eternal  rule 
of  right.  He  will  do  this,  not  in  general  terms,  but  in  the 
specific  peculiarities  which  the  precepts  and  example  of 
Christ  have  imparted  to  it ;  and  will  thus  present  to  men  a 
practical  morality,  far  different  from  that  of  the  he;ithen 
philosophy,  and  far  higher  than  the  acknowledged  standard 
of  even  the  Christianized  community.  He  will  treat  also 
of  the  sanctions  of  a  future    retribution.     He  will    always 


A  DEFENDER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  267 

accompany  the  doctrines  of  truth  and  righteousness  with 
that  of  a  judgment  to  come.  lie  will  never  allow  himself 
to  recognize  man  in  any  other  character  than  that  of  an 
ACCOUNTABLE  IMMORTAL,  or  to  addrcss  him  from  the  pulpit 
in  any  other  relation;  for  he  remembers  that  the  kingdom 
of  his  Lord  is  not  of  this  world,  and  that  he  toiled  and 
suffered  for  men  only  because  he  felt  for  them  as  destined 
to  eternity. 

He  is  thus  evidently  prohibited  much  of  that  dreamy  and 
speculative  discussion  about  secondary  matters  which  has  ren- 
dered so  many  pulpits  unfruitful  and  sleepy.  There  are  per- 
mitted to  him  only  the  strong,  stirring,  urgent  subjects  which 
make  preaching  seem  a  matter  of  life  and  death.  Those 
vast,  sublime,  searching,  thrilling  topics,  —  God,  eternity, 
and  judgment,  repentance,  faith,  and  immortal  progress,  — 
which  are  mighty  to  work  upon  the  soul  and  call  it  out  to  a 
new  life;  —  topics  of  a  magnitude  and  interest  needed  by 
him  who  is  to  throw  down  in  one  day  all  the  evil  influences  on 
character  which  the  world  has  been  building  up  for  six,  and 
to  establish  in  one  day  an  influence  which  the  world  for  six, 
with  a  thousand  hands,  will  be  striving  to  overthrow.  With 
such  a  work  before  him,  he  has  no  time,  (God  forbid  that 
he  should  have  a  heart!)  for  any  less  important  exhibition, 
—  for  preaching  any  thing  but  the  word.  God  forbid  that 
he  sliou'ld  have  a  moment's  solicitude  for  the  petty  elenrances 
of  speech,  or  the  good-will  of  a  frivolous  and  worldly  assem- 
bly. Let  him  be  solicitous  only  to  declare  the  counsel  of 
God,  to  divide  rightly  the  word  of  truth,  and  if  he  can  win 
men  to  receive  and  honor  it  by  an  evident  attachment  and  a 
consistent  life,  he  may  despise  the  contempt  of  the  superfi- 
cial, and  thank  God  that  his  work  is  blest. 

Then  as  to  the  manner  in  which  this  must  be  done.  It 
must,  in  the  first  place,  be  rational.     No  part  of  the  gospel 


THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTER 

can  be  irrationally  defended  ;  certainly  not  at  the  present 
day.  This  is  neither  the  age  nor  the  country  for  a  religion 
built  upon  assumption  to  be  received  upon  assertion.  In- 
deed, it  never  was  true  of  Christianity,  that  it  demanded 
any  other  than  a  rational  defence ;  as  Paul  well  knew,  when 
he  so  constantly  "reasoned  from  the  Scriptures"  in  his 
preaching,  and  filled  his  epistles  with  close  and  earnest 
argument.  Preaching,  therefore,  must  be  reasoning;  it  is 
not  declamation,  nor  exhortation,  nor  fine  description,  nor 
the  mere  outpouring  of  a  burning  mind,  though  sometimes 
they  are  made  to  pass  for  it.  In  no  other  department  of 
serious  eloquence  would  these  modes  of  address  be  thought 
sufficient.  Neither  in  the  senate,  nor  at  the  bar,  nor  in  the 
popular  assembly,  would  it  be  tolerated,  that  men  should 
deal  only  in  flowery  elegance,  hortatory  harangue,  or  mere 
entreaty.  They  are  required  to  show  reason  for  the  part  they 
take.  They  are  required  to  make  business-like  speeches. 
The  speeches  of  the  great  Grecian  were  little  else  than  close 
and  rapid  argument.  They  owed  their  heat  and  force  to 
the  impetuosity  and  compactness  of  the  reasoning.  'And 
surely  the  greatest  of  subjects,  the  most  momentous  of  hu- 
man interests,  is  not  to  be  enforced  with  less  appeal  to 
sound  reasoning.  Men  must  be  addressed  in  a  practical, 
business-like  way  here  as  well  as  elsewhere.  Accustomed 
to  reason  and  to  hear  reasoning  on  all  other  subjects,  they 
cannot,  they  ought  not  surrender  their  understandings,  their 
consciences,  their  wills,  their  characters,  their  all,  to  the 
entreaties  or  the  assertions  of  any  man,  without  good  reason 
given  and  received.  They  cannot,  and  they  ought  not,  take 
any  man's  word  for  any  view  of  any  important  truth. 

True,  as  we  have  insisted,  the  minister  of  Christ  speaks 
from  authority.  But  not  his  own  ;  it  is  his  Master's  author- 
ity.    And  he  must  prove  that  he  has  his  authority  before  he 


A  DEFENDER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  209 

can  use  it.  Even  the  divine  Master  hiniseil"  employed 
argument  and  proof  to  establish  his  authority ;  and  is  the 
minister  to  do  less  now?  Is  he  to  hope  tliut  even  a  cordial 
fellow-disciple  will  acknowledge  the  obligation  of  what  he 
teaches,  unless  it  be  proved  that  his  master  taught  it?  Will 
he  convince  the  cool-hearted  atheist,  the  sophistical  skeptic, 
the  honest  doubter,  the  eager  and  keen-sighted  inquirer, 
without  reasoning?  Can  he  hope  that  the  worldly,  the  sen- 
sual, the  devotees  of  pleasure,  the  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins,  will  be  turned  to  duty  and  faith,  unless  he  can  show 
them  reasons  for  turning  ?  And  still  further ;  when  the 
growing  inquisitiveness  of  the  times  has  imparted  to  men  so 
much  more  real  or  fancied  acuteness  of  mind,  can  he  expect 
that  they  will  yield  to  the  arguments  or  embrace  the  doc- 
trines of  darker  ages,  on  the  ground  of  their  sacredness  and 
antiquity,  without  investigation  ?  Surely  not.  The  minis- 
ter who  thus  judges  takes  a  false  position,  and  palsies  his 
own  right  hand.  He  forgets  thiit  he  no  longer  occupies  an 
office  of  power,  that  he  now  stands  on  a  level  with  his  fel- 
low-men, that  his  adventitious  advantages  are  few.  Those 
few  are  invaluable,  indeed;  but  they  will  avail  him  little, 
unless,  like  other  men  in  important  affairs,  he  exhibit  a 
sound  mind  and  rational  judgment,  and  treat  his  fellow-men 
as  beings  of  intelligence.  The  most  powerful  preaching, 
therefore,  will  be  that  of  argument ;  not  of  subtilties  and 
refinements,  of  formal  technicalities,  and  metaphysical  ab- 
stractions. Theology,  unhappily,  has  been  so  much  at  the 
mercy  of  the  scholastics,  who  have  dissected  it  and  anato- 
mized it,  and  laid  it  by  in  dry  preparations  and  naked  skel- 
etons, that  the  word  argument  in  religion  is  apt  to  bring  up 
the  idea  of  what  is  forbidding.  But  it  is  not  the  arguments 
of  pedantry  that  we  speak  of  There  are  other  sources 
and  forms  of  reasoning  than  those  of  the  schools,  — 
23* 


270  THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTER 

from  which  Jesus  drew  and  which  the  apostles  used ;  the 
inexhaustible  premises  of  nature,  the  affluent  fountains  of 
human  affection,  the  character  of  God,  the  history  of  his 
providence,  the  declarations  of  his  word,  the  promises  of 
immortality,  the  destinies  of  the  intelligent  soul.  These, 
and  such  as  these,  are  sources  of  arguments  for  the  pulpit, 
within  the  comprehension  of  all,  and  interesting  to  the  af- 
fections of  all.  Let  them  be  applied  to  with  the  earnestness 
which  indicates  deep  interest  and  affectionate  zeal,  and  they 
cannot  fail  to  convince,  to  move,  and  to  persuade. 

For  this  is  an  equally  important  consideration,  —  Earn- 
estness. What  will  the  preacher  do  without  earnestness? 
what  justice  to  himself,  to  his  hearers,  to  his  argument,  to 
the  cause  he  has  espoused  1  Speakers  upon  all  other  sub- 
jects are  earnest.  When  they  would  convince  or  move  men, 
they  talk  as  if  they  were  themselves  convinced  and  moved  ; 
they  throw  their  mind  and  heart  into  their  words,  and  thus 
make  way  into  the  mind  and  heart  of  others.  Will  it  do  for 
the  preacher  to  be  less  earnest  ?  Are  his  topics  less  mo- 
mentous ?  or  is  the  cause  which  he  pleads  more  easily  won 
than  that  of  the  statesman  and  barrister?  Are  men  more 
readily  persuaded  to  love  God  and  work  out  their  salvation, 
than  to  vote  with  their  own  party  or  give  a  righteous  verdict 
in  a  suit  at  law  ?  And  shall  questions  of  property,  interest, 
or  politics,  be  discussed  with  the  warm  energy  of  a  glowing 
mind,  —  and  are  the  attributes  of  the  adorable  God,  and  the 
destinies  of  immortal  souls,  to  be  coldly  treated  in  formal 
dissertations?  There  is  no  advocate  who  pleads  a  cause 
like  the  advocate  of  the  gospel.  He  stands  in  the  place  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  to  maintain  and  render  effective  those  benefi- 
cent institutions,  by  him  founded,  on  which  rests  the  hope 
of  the  human  race  through  all  ages  and  nations,  and  of  the 
human  soul  throughout  eternity.     He  sees   and  knows  that 


A    DEFENDER    OF    THE    GOSPEL.  371- 

except  so  far  as  they  prevail,  darkness  is  over  the  earth  and 
gross  darkness  over  the  people;  he  knows  that  just  so  far  as 
they  prevail,  light  breaks  upon  men,  and  earth  becomes 
heaven.  Yet  he  sees  their  blessed  influences  opposed.  The 
state  of  society,  the  pursuits  of  present  interest,  the  prin- 
ciples of  a  sensual  life,  the  depravity  of  many,  and  the  ig- 
norance of  more,  perpetually  thwart  their  gracious  operation, 
and  they  are  sustained  and  powerful,  if  at  all,  through  a 
perpetual  struggle.  Intermit  the  struggle,  and  their  light 
flickers,  and  the  darkness  comes  over  the  land  again.  Who 
but  the  minister  is  to  sustain  that  struggle  ?  Who  but  he  is 
set  for  the  defence  of  that  beacon  light?  And  when,  there- 
fore, he  reflects  what  a  responsibility  is  laid  upon  him,  — 
when  he  looks  on  his  fellow-men  groping  in  darkness  and 
folly,  turned  into  brutes  by  the  horrible  enchantments  of 
earth  and  sense,  and  knows  that  to  him  is  committed  the 
talisman  by  which  they  are  to  be  rechanged  to  their  human 
and  celestial  dignity,  —  must  he  not  feel  that  he  is  to  be  up 
and  doing  ?  that  his  most  strenuous  zeal  is  demanded  ?  that 
the  most  piercing  and  thrilling  cry  of  his  voice  must  be 
lifted  ?  How  else  shall  he  so  much  as  catch  the  attention 
of  those  slumbering  and  giddy  souls  ?  How  else  can  his 
voice  be  so  much  as  heard  amid  the  loud  din  of  business 
and  the  resounding  choruses  of  pleasure?  How  else  can  he 
hope  to  arrest  the  thoughtless  throng  of  triflers,  and  per- 
suade to  listen  the  scornful  doubter,  or  put  to  shame  the 
coarse  blasphemer,  or  call  into  life  the  dead  in  trespasses  ? 
O  my  brethren !  what  a  work  is  that  of  the  ministry,  when 
we  observe  what  is  to  be  done,  and  what  obstacles  there  are 
to  doing  it  ?  One  would  think  that  earth  and  heaven  would 
be  moved  by  our  endeavors.  Yet  how  little  do  our  pulpits 
exhibit  of  the  great  commotion  !  How  seldom  are  the  thun- 
ders which   shake   the  senate-house   and  the   forum  heard 


272  THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTER 

pealing  through  the  temple  of  God  !  How  rarely  are  the 
passions  which  weep  and  tremble  at  the  fictions  of  the  stage 
called  on  for  a  tear  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  or  niadQ  to  glow 
or  tremble  at  the  realities  of  eternal  truth  !  We  are  all  cor- 
rectness, decorum,  and  sobriety.  We  are  careful  to  commit 
no  faults,  we  shock  nobody's  taste,  we  roughly  waken  no 
one's  slumbers.  To  be  sure,  we  know  that  men  ought  to  be 
interested  in  heavenly  things,  and  that,  if  they  do  not  count 
religion  the  one  thing  needful,  they  will  be  ruined.  But  we 
think  it  would  be  risking  a  great  deal  to  tell  them  so,  blunt- 
ly ;  and  if  our  plainness  should  chance  to  offend  them,  why, 
then  our  influence  over  them  is  gone,  and  we  can  never  do 
them  any  more  good.  And  is  influence  worth  having,  if  we 
may  not  use  it  to  bring  men  to  God?  As  if  the  ministry 
were  worth  maintaining,  if  it  be  only  an  institution  for 
bringing  men  together  once  a  week,  to  be  entertained  with 
pfeasant  pieces  of  composition  !  As  well  might  we  flee 
away  from  our  mission,  like  Jonah,  as  thus  render  it  ineffi- 
cient by  a  timid  and  time-serving  delivery. 

There  is,  therefore,  one  further  thing  to  characterize  the 
preacher, — plainness;  and  this  in  two  senses;  —  that  of 
speaking  plain  truths,  and  that  of  speaking  them  in  plain 
terms.  Very  little  is  effected  toward  establishing  over  men 
the  authority  and  influence  of  the  Christian  religion,  by  him 
who  will  not  in  perfect  simplicity  teach  its  plain  truths,  pre- 
cepts, and  sanctions  ;  but  who,  instead  of  this,  only  philos- 
ophizes about  them  ;  or  amuses  his  hearers  with  speculations 
and  treatises  on  far-sought  questions  of  curiosity  ;  or  charms 
their  ears  with  musical  periods,  and  the  careful  pomp  of 
mafrniloquent  declamation ;  or  uses  the  language  of  the 
learned  for  the  instruction  of  the  ignorant.  If  truth  is  to  be 
communicated,  it  must  be  made  easily  comprehensible  by 
those  to  whom  it   is  addressed.     If  hearts   are  to   be  won, 


A  DEFEJSDER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  273 

they  must  be  spoken  to  in  the  language  of  tlie  heart.  And 
so  long  as  Christian  congregations  are  composed  of  all  orders 
and  classes  of  society,  of  women  and  children  as  well  as  of 
men,  and  of  the  unlearned  more  than  the  learned,  so  long 
they  must  be  addressed  in  terms  of  the  most  intelligible 
plainness  on  those  plain  and  simple  subjects,  which  not  only 
alone  interest,  but  alone  concern  them.  Is  it  not  mortify- 
ing, when  an  assembly  of  waiting  and  needy  souls  is  look- 
ing up  to  learn  of  Christ  and  heaven,  to  hear  the  wise 
man  read  to  tiiem  some  elaborate  dissertation,  like  a  univer- 
sity prize  essay,  for  which  it  is  impossible  that  tliey  should 
feel  more  interest  than  for  a  paper  in  the  Philosophical  Trans- 
actions respecting  the  atmosphere  of  the  planet  Saturn  ?  Is 
it  not  mortifying  to  observe  a  sensible  man,  who,  if  he  had 
been  a  lawyer,  would  have  spoken  to  a  jury  sensibly,  as  a 
man  speaks  to  men,  —  now,  because  he  is  a  theologian,  talk 
solemnly  to  his  bewildered  and  yawning  congregation  on 
some  subject  in  which  they  have  no  concern,  and  in  some 
phraseology  which  he  himself  would  not  dream  of  employ- 
ing on  any  other  occasion  of  real  life?  Of  what  value  are 
subtile  and  ingenious  disquisitions  to  souls  that  have  not  yet 
mastered  the  elements  of  religious  truth?  Of  what  account 
the  most  acute  and  convincing  argumentation,  if  so  put  that 
it  cannot  be  apprehended  by  the  hearers?  Of  what  avail 
the  heartiest  zeal,  if  it  be  wasted  on  a  topic  inappropriate, 
or  cloked  by  unfamiliar  speech,  which  falls  dead  upon  the 
ear?  Yet  how  much  of  this  has  there  always  been  in  the 
Christian  church!  How  has  the  simplicity  of  Christ  been 
corrupted  by  the  pedantry  of  mistaken  learning,  or  buried 
beneath  the  mass  of  cumbrous  verbiage  !  How  often  has 
the  most  complicated  instruction  been  given  on  subjects 
which  required  the  simplest,  and  to  those  audiences  which 
needed  the  plainest ! 


374  THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTEK 

But  I  must  pause ;  —  for  who  can  speak  worthily  of  this 
great  function,  by  which  God  has  appointed  to  convert  and 
save  the  world  ?  Who,  brethren,  has  not  in  his  mind  an 
idea  of  the  power,  grandeur,  efficiency,  of  this  divine  in- 
strument, which  has  never  yet  been  realized  ?  Who  does 
not  look  with  dissatisfaction  on  what  he  has  already  done, 
and  with  despair  on  what  he  is  likely  to  do?  Yet,  blessed 
be  God  !  he  requires  of  us  no  extravagant  and  impossible 
attainment.  Nor  are  we  to  fancy  that  none  are  true  preach- 
ers of  his  word,  who  do  not  arrive  at  a  certain  excellence  in 
a  certain  way.  The  gospel  is  not  so  stinted  a  field  as  that 
would  imply.  There  are  diversities  of  operations  and  gifts, 
all  equally  valuable,  and  all  of  the  same  spirit.  We  cannot 
suppose  that  the  quiet  and  affecti^onate  John  preached  like 
the  impetuous  Peter,  or  that  James  rushed  upon  the  souls 
of  men  with  the  torrent  and  tempest  of  the  impassioned 
Paul,  —  or  that  those  whom  Jesus  called  sons  of  thunder 
were  just  such  preachers  as  those  whom  the  disciples  called 
sons  of  consolation.  There  is  no  one  standard.  There  may 
be,  as  there  must  be,  differences.  But  it  was  required  then, 
it  must  be  required  now,  that  all  preach  the  gospel,  — 
rationally,  earnestly,  plainly.  It  is  not  necessary  that  all 
be  masters  of  an  impetuous,  exciting,  overwhelming  elo- 
quence. The  gentle  and  quiet,  the  still  small  voice,  may 
save  as  many  souls  as  the  imposing  and  magnificent.  But, 
whether  loud  or  soft,  whether  in  thunders  or  in  whispers, 
there  must  bo  the  same  life-giving  truth  —  the  same  spiritual 
unction  —  the  same  simple-hearted  earnestness.  These  it  is 
that  will  be  owned  and  blessed.  These  it  is  that  will  win 
souls  to  heaven,  and  accomplish  the  mission  of  the  Son  of 
God. 

Of  the  things  which  we  have  spoken,  this,  then,  is  the 
sum.      The   minister  of  Christ   advocates  his   gospel   as  a 


K   DEFENDER  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  275 

rf.velation;  making  known  truth,  proclaiming  a  law,  an- 
nouncing eternal  sanctions.  He  upholds  it  as  such  against 
infidelity,  indifference,  and  sin,  by  every  effort  of  a  de- 
voted heart  and  life ;  especially  by  vindicating  it  from  the 
pulpit  with  the  utmost  earnestness  and  plainness. 

May  it  be  your  happiness,  brethren  of  this  church  and 
society,  my  very  dear  friends,  to  find  in  your  pastor  such  a 
defender  of  the  faith  ;  and  may  you  and  he  rejoice  in  it  to- 
gether until  the  day  of  the  Lord!  Brethren,  I  cordially 
congratulate  you  on  the  prospects  of  the  occasion.  It  has 
pleased  the  Lord  to  try  you  by  vicissitude  and  apprehension, 
but  he  has  brought  you  to  see  their  end  in  light  and  hope. 
And  it  cannot  but  add  to  your  satisfaction,  in  receiving  your 
present  pastor,  to  enjoy  the  hearty  sympathy  and  receive  the 
cordial  God-speed  of  those  who  once  stood  among  you  in 
the  same  relation,  and  now  are  separated  from  you.  They 
look  back  to  those  days  when  they  lived  among  you  and 
shared  your  life,  with  remembrances  full  of  gratitude  to 
God  and  to  you.  They  bear  thankful  testimony  to  you  in 
presence  of  the  churches ;  and  they  commit  to  you  this,  our 
younger  brother,  assured  that  his  labors  will  be  kindly  ap- 
preciated and  his  happiness  affectionately  guarded. 

My  young  friend,  I  am  sure  that  this  people  deserve,  that 
they  will  respond  to,  that  they  will  second,  the  best  work 
you  can  do  for  them  in  this  blessed  cause  j  and  they  will  be, 
I  KNOW,  as  forbearing  and  tender,  as  a  minister,  conscious 
of  infirmities  and  often  needing  forgiveness,  can  desire. 
Go  among  them,  therefore,  witliout  fear.  Give  them  your 
confidence  and  your  strength.  Labor  for  them  and  for  God 
in  a  zealous  and  plain  ministry ;  encouraged  that  they  will 
be  your  reward  here,  and  he  your  recompense  in  heaven. 


A   FAREWELL   ADDRESS 


SECOND  CHURCH   AND  SOCIETY  IN  BOSTON, 


DELIVERED    OCTOBER    4,  1830. 


Brethren  and  Friends  : 

The  course  of  providence  has  brought  us  to  the 
day  in  which  I  appear  before  you  in  the  relation  of  your 
minister  for  the  last  time.  I  cannot  suffer  it  to  pass  by  and 
separate  us  without  a  parting  word.  The  bond  which  has 
so  happily  connected  us,  was  consecrated  in  this  holy  place 
with  formal  ceremony,  and  many  words  of  religious  solem- 
nity. It  ought  not  to  be  severed  in  silence.  And  I  would 
make  an  unaccustomed  effort,  that  these  walls  may  once 
more  resound  with  my  voice,  while  I  commune  with  you  on 
the  past,  and  utter  the  sentiments  which  belong  to  the 
present. 

The  bond  between  minister  and  people  is  near  and  pecu- 
liar. It  ought  not  to  be  formed  inconsiderately  ;  it  must 
not  be  broken  rashly.  Strong,  deep,  fervent  affections  are 
bound  up  with  it;  tender  and  intimate  feelings  surround 
and  hallow  it.  When  confirmed  by  time  and  intimacy,  if  it 
should  be  rudely  ruptured,  many  hearts  are  torn ;  even 
when  gently  severed,  many  hearts  bleed.     Our  separation 


A    FAREWELL    ABDRESS.  277 

—  blessed  be  He  who  in  judgment  always  remembers  mercy 
- —  is  not  sudden  nor  abrupt  —  is  not  the  consequence  of 
dissension,  dissatisfaction,  or  division  —  has  not  been  sought 
or  desired  on  either  side.  It  is  the  gradual  result  of  cir- 
cumstances, ordered  not  by  man,  but  by  an  uncontrollable 
Providence,  which  arrested  the  minister  in  the  midst  of  his 
labors,  when  he  was  engaged  in  them  with  more  than  usual 
satisfaction,  and  more  than  usual  encouragement;  —  a  prov- 
idence, which,  having  withdrawn  him  from  your  service, 
presented  to  you,  at  once,  a  man  on  whom  your  hearts  could 
rest,  and  provided  for  him  another  sphere  of  duty.  We 
separate,  therefore,  in  unbroken  good-will ;  and  commend 
each  other  to  God  as  we  part,  not  only  from  a  sense  of 
Christian  duty,  but  with  a  warm  sentiment  of  brotherly  af- 
fection. It  is  a  reason  for  devout  gratitude  to-day,  that, 
with  all  the  trials  which  have  borne  upon  us,  and  intro- 
duced this  event,  we  have  been  spared  that  bitterest  of  all 

—  alienation  and  dissension. 

It  is  impossible,  on  the  arrival  of  a  moment  like  this  — 
when  one  scene  of  life  closes,  and  one  long  period  of  ac- 
countableness  is  made  up  for  judgment  —  not  to  look  back 
and  survey  that  period  with  anxious  retrospection.  In  doing 
this,  many  reflections  crowd  upon  the  mind  which  may  not 
be  communicated  to  others  ;  and  some  which  it  would  be 
wrong  not  to  utter.  Of  such  I  would  speak  briefly,  as  in 
the  midst  of  friends  who  will  not  misunderstand  me,  nor 
require  an  apology  for  the  egotism  of  the  occasion. 

If  I  were  to  mention  all  that  I  discern  in  the  past,  of 
error,  negligence,  unfaithfulness,  on  my  own  part,  I  should 
only  unnecessarily  pain  you,  and  perhaps  seem  to  be  making 
an  exhibiti(m  of  humility.  But  some  of  you  will  under- 
stand me  when  I  say,  that  I  feel  I  need  their  forgiveness  for 
instances  of  what  must  have  seemed  to  them  culpable 
'2i 


278  A   FAREWELL   ADDRESS, 

remissness;  and  I  cannot  be  at  ease,  except  by  hoping  that 
they  have  granted  it.  Indeed,  no  one,  who  has  not  expe- 
rienced the  difficulty  of  always  doing  all  that  is  to  be  done 
in  the  complicated  and  trying  walks  of  the  pastoral  office, 
can  guess  with  what  bitterness  a  minister  is  sometimes  com- 
pelled to  reproach  himself,  and  how  the  kind  approbation 
of  his  friends  serves  only  to  humble  and  rebuke  him  under 
a  consciousness  that  he  ill  deserves  it.  For  you  —  you 
have  borne  with  my  weakness,  overlooked  my  neglects,  been 
liberal  to  my  necessities,  candid  to  my  faults.  I  can  only 
thank  you  for  that  indulgence  which  has  made  my  path  pleas- 
antness and  peace ;  and  beseech  you  to  cheer  the  way  of 
my  successor  with  similar  kindness. 

Yet,  whatever  may  have  been  my  failure  in  executing  the 
plan  of  my  ministry,  with  the  plan  itself  I  perceive  no  rea- 
son to  be  dissatisfied.  Being  persuaded  that  the  private 
duties  of  personal  and  pastoral  intercourse  are,  at  least,  as 
important  as  the  public  exercises  of  the  pulpit,  and  in  fact 
necessary  to  their  efficiency  and  success,  it  has  been  my 
wish  and  purpose  to  give  much  of  my  time  and  affections 
peculiarly  to  this  sphere  of  action.  If  I  have  done  any 
good,  I  attribute  it  almost  entirely  to  the  opportunities  and 
power  which  I  have  in  this  way  gained.  That  I  have  done 
no  more,  I  feel  now  to  be  mainly  owing  to  remissness,  irres- 
olution, and  want  of  exact  method  in  prosecuting  this,  the 
most  difficult  as  well  as  important  department  of  the  minis- 
ter's labors. 

The  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to  the  instruction  of  the 
children  and  youth  of  the  congregation,  —  always  an  es- 
sential and  favorite  part  of  my  plan,  though  pursued  with  so 
little  systematic  perseverance. 

As  regards  the  manner  in  which  I  have  proposed  to  dis- 
charge the  great  function  of  preaching  God's  word,  it  has 


A    FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  279 

simply  been  my  endeavor  to  administer  a  suitable  mixture 
of  doctrinal  instruction  and  moral  exhortation  ;  to  state  dis- 
tinctly  what  seem  to  be  the    truths    of  revelation,  accom- 
panied always  with  expositions  and   illustrations  from    the 
Scriptures,  and  with  explicit  application  to  the  characters 
and  consciences  of  those  who  hear.     I  have  wished  to  give 
you  neither  doctrinal  discussions  nor  moral  speculations  in 
any  other    form    than    as   drawn  from  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  singly  designed  to  affect  our  hearts  and  lives. 
Undoubtedly  I  have  failed  of  realizing  my  own  standard; 
but  I  look  back  with   shame   to  every  instance  in  which  I 
allowed  any  circumstances  to  lead  me  astray  from  this  right 
and  true  path  into  a  more  showy  but  less  profitable  method. 
If  I  thus  survey  with  mixed  feelings  the  conduct  of  my 
ministry,  in  a  similar  manner  do  I  regard  its  success.     In 
some  respects  it  is  grateful  to  me,  in  some  respects  it  is  sad. 
I  think  that  I  have  seen,  upon  the  whole,  a  general  improve- 
ment in  the  religious  condition  of  the  congregation.     Some 
individuals  I  have  witnessed  making  noiseless,  and  steady, 
persevering  progress  in  a  religious  character.     Some  I  have 
seen  reformed  from  worldliness  and   sin,  and  changed  into 
conscientious  followers  of  the  Christian  life.     Some  I  have 
seen  growing  up  from  childhood  to  manhood,  uniformly  at- 
tached to  the  truth,  and   influenced  by  a  regard  to  God.     I 
have  witnessed,  in  general,  a  punctual  attendance  on  public 
worship,   and  have   found   encouragement  from  many  who 
sought  edification  at  more  private  religious  exercises  during 
the  week.     A  larger  proportion  than  formerly  have  been  in- 
duced to  profess  their  faith  at  the  Lord's  tal)le  ;   and  if  many 
still  refrain  without  sufRcient  apology,  I  am  willing  at  least 
to  share  the  blame  of  their  neglect;   for  if  I  had  done  my 
whole  duty  in  regard  to  that  ordinance,  who  can   tell   but 
they  might  have  done  theirs  ?     Finally,  in  plans  of  general 


280  A   FAREWELL   ADDRESS. 

good,  and  contributions  for  religious  charity,  I  have  never 
wanted  countenance  and  aid  ;  and  though  not  among  the 
wealthiest,  I  will  not  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  saying, 
that  the  Second  Church  has  been  among'^the  readiest  and 
most  liberal  of  givers. 

In  these  particulars  I  have  expressed,  and  do  express,  my 
satisfaction  —  devoutly  thankful  to  God  that  he  appointed 
me  to  labor  where  my  labors  were  seconded,  and  I  could 
see  that  I  did  not  toil  wholly  in  vain; 

Yet,  friends  and  brethren,  I  should  be  false  to  you  and  to 
the  truth,  should  I  leave  you  with  the  pleasant  impression 
that  there  is  nothing  to  be  rebuked,  lamented,  or  improved 
among  you.  Alas  !  it  cannot  be  so;  and  it  will  be  a  useful 
exercise  for  you  also  to  look  back  impartially  to-day,  and 
awaken  your  consciences ;  for  you  are  no  less  accountable 
than  your  minister  for  the  connection  which  is  now  closing. 
I  exhort  you,  therefore,  as  in  the  presence  of  Him  who  sees 
all  hearts,  and  as  those  who  must  give  account,  to  give 
one  hour  to  consideration  to-day.  Ask  yourselves  how  far 
you  have  been  faithful  to  your  privileges  —  how  far  you 
have  used  them  diligently  to  promote  your  religious  knowl- 
edge, and  advance  your  Christian  standing?  Can  you 
perceive  that  you  are  better  men,  more  devout,  benevolent, 
and  thoughtful?  Or  have  all  these  years,  with  their  Sab- 
baths, prayers,  and  exhortations,  passed  over,  and  left  you 
as  you  were  ?  Alas !  is  it  not  to  be  feared  that  there  are 
many  among  you  who  can  answer  these  questions  with  little 
satisfaction?  who  have  moved  on  year  after  year  unim- 
proved, and  are  going  down  to  their  graves  as  ignorant  and 
imperfect  as  they  were  fourteen  years  ago?  Will  they  not 
look  at  themselves  now  ?  Will  they  not  heed  a  parting 
exhortation,  though  they  have  heard  so  many  in  vain?     To- 


A   FAREWELL   ADDRESS. 


281 


day,  at  least,  let  them  not  harden  their  hearts.  "  For  what 
shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his 
own  soul  ?  "  * 

But  there  are  others  to  whom  I  look  with  pleasure  and 
congratulation.  I  have  witnessed  the  growth  of  their  faith,  I 
have  seen  the  advancement  of  their  virtue,  I  have  known 
their  perseverance  in  good  works.  To  them  I  say,  Go  on, 
and  the  Lord  go  with  you  in  peace  and  strength.  And  yet, 
what  I  say  unto  all,  I  say  also  unto  them  —  Watch. 

And  now,  brethren,  my  work  among  you  is  ended.  Such 
as  it  has  been,  it  is  over.  For  you,  and  for  me,  the  account 
is  sealed  up  for  a  solemn  judgment.  The  day  is  coming 
which  will  try  it  as  with  fire,  and  disclose  to  us  its  true 
character,  with  all  its  lasting  consequences.  Join  me, 
brethren,  in  the  prayer,  that  God  will  show  mercy  in  that 
day ! 

Meantime,  we  are  to  finish  our  mortal  probation  apart. 
Yet  I  cannot  feel  that  I  shall  be  separated  from  you.  This 
house  will  long  seem  to  me  my  own  religious  home,  and 
those  who  worship  here,  the  members  of  my  own  religious 
household.  Still,  as  returns  the  hallowed  day,  my  spirit 
will  come  up  among  you,  as  it  has  done  from  across  the 
ocean,  and  amid  the  worship  of  strange  lands,  to  join  in 
your  praises,  and  bend  with  you  at  the  mercy-seat.  And 
when  the  day  shall  arrive  that  these  temples  have  mouldered, 
and  all  earthly  worship  ceased,  —  when  the  scattered  con- 
Tregations  of  the  saints  shall  assemble  together  with  the 
church  of  the  first-born  in  heaven,  —  then,  too,  it  is  my  hope 
and  prayer  that  we  shall  be  found  side  by  side  in  the  wor- 
ship of  eternity,  and  accompany  one   another  still  in  that 

*  These  words  were  the  text  of  Mr.  Emerson's  sermon  preached 
just  before  the  delivery  of  this  Address. 

24* 


282  A   FAREWELL   ADDRESS, 

career  of  infinite   progress   and   spiritual   glory  which   we 
commenced  together  here. 

In  this  hope,  I  bid  you  —  as  your  minister  —  farewell.  I 
rejoice  that  I  do  not  leave  you  alone,  but  to  the  guidance 
of  able  hands,  and  the  instruction  of  faithful  lips.  God 
bestow  upon  your  minister,  and  upon  you,  the  choicest  of 
spiritual  blessings !  May  he  lead,  support,  encourage, 
cheer,  and  save  you !  May  the  spirit  of  Christ  dwell  in 
you  richly  with  all  wisdom  ;  and  the  peace  of  God,  which 
passeth  all  understanding,  abide  among  you,  and  sanctify 
vou  always! 


ON    THE 


FORMATION 


CHRISTIAN     CHARACTER 

ADDRESSED 

TO  THOSK   WHO   ARE   SEEKING   TO   LEAD 
A  RELIGIOUS  LIFE. 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE. 


In  presenting  to  the  religious  public  this  little  book,*  the  writer 
has  only  to  say,  that  he  undertook  it  because  he  thouglit  that  a 
■work  of  this  character  was  needed  and  would  be  welcome.  During 
his  active  ministry,  he  had  often  felt  the  want  of  a  book  on  per- 
sonal religion,  different,  in  some  respects,  from  any  which  had 
fallen  in  his  way ;  and  when  compelled  by  ill  health  to  relinquisli 
hia  pastoral  cares,  he  attempted  to  beguile  some  of  the  languid 
hours  of  a  weary  convalescence  by  efforts  at  composing  such  a 
one.  The  result  has  come  very  far  short  of  the  idea  which  he  had 
formed  in  his  mind.  The  book  was  written  at  distant  and  uncer- 
tain intervals,  upon  journeys  and  in  public  houses,  and  has  been 
now  revised  for  the  press  in  tiie  midst  of  other  cares,  which  have 
allowed  no  time  for  giving  it  the  completeness  he  desired.  Yet,  as 
it  belongs  to  a  class  of  writings  of  whose  importance  he  has  the 
highest  sense,  and  the  multiplication  of  which,  as  well  as  the  in- 
crease of  a  taste  for  their  perusal,  he  esteems  in  the  highest 
measure  desirable,  —  he  ventures  to  hope  that  tliis  slight  effort 
will  not  be  wholly  lost ;  and  that  it  may  at  least  do  something 
towards  exciting  others  to  a  preparation  of  more  efficient  works, 
which  shall  nourish  the  spirit  of  devotion,  and  extend  the  power  of 
practical  faith. 

CAMBRlUCiK,  Mui/  IG,   1831. 


*  The   "Christian    Character"   was    originally    published    in    a    small 
volume. 


CONTENTS 


F&GE. 

Introdoction, 287 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  A'ature  of  Religion,  and  what  we  are  to  seek.  —  Religion  de- 
scribed—  exemplified  in  the  character  of  Christ  —  an  ardu- 
ous attainment  —  caution  against  low  views, 269 

CHAPTER    II. 

Our  Power  to  obtain  that  which  we  seek.  —  The  capacity  for  re- 
ligion in  human  nature  —  education  —  the  natural  and  the 
spiritual  life  —  man's  ability  to  do  the  will  of  God  —  false 
humility  —  salvation  by  grace, 297 

CHAPTER   III. 

The  Slate  of  Mind  in  which  the  Inquirer  should  siistuiti  himself. 
—  Sense  of  unworthiness  —  anxiety  of  mind  —  rulers  to  be 
observed  respecting  retirement,  conversation,  public  Tuoet- 
Jngs, 30G 

CHAPTER   IV. 

The  Means  of  Religious  Improvement, 3]  4 

I.  Reading.  —  Duty  of  seeking  religious  knowledge  —  its  ad- 
vantages—  time  to  be  given  to  it  —  the  Bible  —  to  be  read 


286  CONTENTS. 

tkOt, 

for  instruction  in  truth  —  for  self-application — selection  of 
other  books, 314 

II.  Meditation.  —  Its  object — habitual  thoughtfulness — sea- 
sons of  meditation  —  enjoyment  to  be  expected  in  them  — 
caution  —  three  purposes  to  be  answered, 'V27 

III.  Prayer.  —  Its  necessity  and  value  —  importance  of  set 
times  —  method  to  be  observed  —  subjects  —  posture  —  lan- 
guage —  frequency  and  brevity  —  ejaculatory  prayer  —  faith, 
fervor,  perseverance  — answers  to  prayer  —  topics —  in  the 
name  of  Christ  —  caution  —  spirit  of  devotion, 336 

.IV.  Preacliing.  —  A  divine  institution — necessity  of  prepara- 
tion for  hearing  —  a  critical  disposition  —  reflection  on  what 
has  been  heard  —  on  keeping  a  record  of  sermons —  weak- 
ness of  memory  —  a  taste  for  preaching  to  be  preserved,.  . .  357 
V.  The  Lord's  Supper.  —  Its  object  twofold,  profession  of 
faith,  and  means  of  improvement — who  to  partake,  and 
^Jien  —  an  affecting  and  comprehensive  rite  —  an  opportu- 
nity for  silent  worship  —  conclusion, 367 

CHAPTER   V. 

Tkc  Religious  Discipline  of  Life.  —  The  means  of  religion  not 
to  be  mistaken  for  the  end  —  watchfulness,  daily  duties  and 
trials  —  discipline  of  the  thoughts,  dispositions,  passions, 
appetites  —  conversation  —  ordinary  deportment  —  guard  to 
be  kept  over  the  principles —  and  over  the  habits, 375 


FORMATION 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER 


INTRODUCTION. 

I  AM  anxious  to  bespeak  the  reader's  right  attention  before 
he  enters  on  the  following  pages.  They  have  been  written 
only  for  those  who  are  sincerely  desirous  of  knowing  them- 
selves, and  are  bent  upon  forming  a  religious  character. 
They  can  be  of  little  interest  or  value  to  any  other  person, 
or  if  read  with  any  other  view  than  that  of  self-improve- 
ment. I  venture,  therefore,  to  entreat  every  one,  into 
whose  hands  the  book  may  fall,  to  peruse  it,  as  it  has  been 
written,  not  for  entertainment,  but  for  moral  edification; 
to  read  it  at  those  seasons  when  he  is  seriously  disposed, 
and  can  reflect  upon  the  important  topics  presented  to  his 
view.  I  am  solicitous  to  aid  him  in  the  formation  of  his 
Christian  character,  and  about  every  other  result  I  am  in- 
different. 

I  would  even  presume,  further,  to  warn  one  class  of  read- 
ers, and  that  not  a  small  one,  against  a  danger  which  lurks 
even  in  their  established  respect  for  religion.  That  general 
regard  for  it,  which  grows  out  of  the  circumstances  of  edu- 
cation and  the  habits  of  society,  may  be  mistaken  for  a  re- 


288  INTRODUCTION, 

ligious  state  of  mind  ;  yet  it  is  perfectly  consistent  with 
religious  indifference.  A  man  may  sincerely  honor,  advo- 
cate, and  uphold  the  religion  of  Christ  on  account  of  its 
general  influence,  its  beneficial  public  tendency,  its  humane 
and  civilizing  consequences,  without  at  all  subjecting  his 
own  temper  and  life  to  its  laws,  or  being  in  any  proper  sense 
a  subject  of  the  peculiar  happiness  it  imparts.  This  is 
perhaps  not  an  infrequent  case.  Men  need  to  be  made 
sensible  that  religion  is  a  personal  thing,  a  matter  of  per- 
sonal application  and  experience.  Unless  it  is  so  consid- 
ered, it  will  scarcely  be  an  object  of  earnest  pursuit,  or  of 
fervent,  hearty  interest,  nor  can  it  exert  its  true  and  thor- 
ough influence  on  the  character.  Indeed,  its  desirable  in- 
fluence upon  the  state  of  society  can  be  gained  only  through 
this  deep  personal  devotion  to  it  of  individuals  ;  because 
none  but  this  is  genuine  religion,  and  the  genuine  only  can 
exhibit  the  genuine  power. 

1  know  of  nothing  to  be  more  earnestly  desired,  than  that 
men  should  cease  to  look  upon  religion  as  designed  for 
others,  and  should  come  to  regard  it  as  primarily  affecting 
themselves ;  that  they  should  first  and  most  seriously  study 
its  relation  to  their  own  hearts,  and  be  above  all  things 
anxious  about  their  own  characters.  His  is  but  a  partial 
and  unsatisfactory  faith,  which  is  concerned  wholly  with 
the  state  of  society  in  general,  and  allows  him  to  neglect 
the  discipline  of  his  own  affections  and  the  culture  of  his 
own  spiritual  nature.  He  is  but  poorly  fitted  to  honor  or 
promote  the  cause  of  Christ,  who  has  not  first  subjected  his 
own  soul  to  his  holy  government.  There  are  men  enough, 
when  Christianity  is  prevalent  and  honorable,  to  lend  it  their 
countenance  and  pay  it  external  homage.  We  want  more 
thorough,  consistent  exemplifications  of  its  purity,  benevo- 
lence, and  spirituality.     These  can   be  found  only  in  men, 


THE  NATURE  OF  RELIGION.  289 

who  love  it  for  its  own  sake,  and  because  it  is  "  the  wisdom 
of  God  and  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation,"  and  not 
simply  because  it  is  respectable  in  the  eyes  of  the  world, 
and  favorable  to  the  decency  and  order  of  the  common- 
wealth. It  is  for  those  who  are  seeking  this  end,  and  for 
such  only,  that  I  write. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE    NATURE    OF    RELIGION,    AND    WHAT    WE    ARE    TO    SEEK. 

Tn  order  to  the  intelligent  and  successful  pursuit  of  any 
object,  it  is  necessary,  first  of  all,  to  have  a  definite  con- 
ception of  what  we  desire  to  effect  or  obtain.  This  is 
especially  important  in  the  study  of  religion,  both  because 
of  the  extent  and  variety  of  the  subject  itself,  and  because 
of  the  very  different  apprehensions  of  men  respecting  it. 
Many  are  di.sheartened  and  fail,  in  consequence  of  setting 
out  with  wrong  views  and  false  expectations ;  from  which 
cause  religion  itself  suffers,  being  made  answerable  for 
failures  which  are  entirely  owing  to  the  unreasonable  anti- 
cipations and  ill-directed  efforts  of  those  who  enlisted  in  her 
service,  but  did  not  persevere  in  it. 

Let  us  begin,  then,  with  considering  what  is  the  object 
at  which  we  aim  when  we  seek  a  religious  character. 

Religion,  in  a  general  sense,  is  founded  on  man's  relation 
and  accountableness  to  his  Maker;  and  it  consists  in  cher- 
ishing the  sentiments  and  performing  the  duties  which 
thence  result,  and  which  belong  to  the  other  relations  to 
other  beings  which  God  has  appointed  him  to  sustain. 
25 


290  THE    NATURE    OF    RELIGION, 

Concerning  these  relations,  sentiments,  and  duties,  we 
are  instructed  in  the  Scriptures,  especially  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Religion,  with  us,  is  the  Christian  religion.  It  is 
found  in  the  teachings  and  example  of  Jesus  Ciirist.  It 
consists  in  the  worship,  the  sentiments,  and  the  character, 
which  he  enjoined,  and  which  he  illustrated  in  his  own 
person. 

What  you  are  to  seek,  therefore,  is,  under  the  guidance 
of  Jesus  Christ,  to  feel  your  relation  to  God,  and  to  live 
under  a  sense  of  responsibility  to  him ;  to  cultivate  assid- 
uously those  sentiments  and  affections  which  spring  out  of 
this  responsible  and  filial  relation,  as  well  as  those  which 
arise  out  of  your  connection  with  other  men  as  his  off- 
spring; to  perform  all  the  duties  to  him  and  them,  which 
appertain  to  this  character  and  relation ;  and  to  cherish  that 
heavenward  tendency  of  mind,  which  should  spring  from  a 
consciousness  of  possessing  an  immortal  nature.  He  who 
does  all  this  is  a  religious  man,  or,  in  other  words,  a 
Christian. 

You  desire  to  be  a  Christian.  To  this  are  requisite  three 
things  :  belief  in  the  truths  which  the  gospel  reveals  ;  pos- 
session of  the  state  of  mind  which  it  enjoins ;  and  perform- 
ance of  the  duties  which  it  requires  :  or,  I  may  say,  the 
subjection  of  the  mind  by  faith,  the  subjection  of  the  heart 
by  love,  the  subjection  of  the  will  by  obedience.  This  uni- 
versal submission  of  yourself  to  God  is  what  you  are  to  aim 
at.     This  is  religion. 

Observe  how  extensive  a  thing  it  is.  It  is  a  principle  of 
the  mind:  founded  upon  thought,  reflection,  inquiry,  argu- 
ment; and  leading  to  devotion  and  duty  as  most  reasonable 
and  suitable  for  intelligent  beings. 

It  is  a  sentiment  or  affection  of  the  heart ;  not  the  cold 
judgment  of  the  intellect  alone,  in   favor  of  what  is  right; 


THE    NATUKE    OF    RELIGIOX.  291 

but  a  warm,  glowing  feeling  of  preference  and  desire;  a 
feeling  which  attaches  itself  in  love  to  the  Father  of  all, 
and  to  all  good  beings;  which  turns  duty  into  inclina- 
tion, and  pursues  virtue  from  impulse;  which  prefers  and 
delights  in  that  which  is  well  pleasing  to  God,  and  takes  an 
affectionate  interest  in  the  things  to  which  the  Savior  de- 
voted himself 

It  is  a  rule  of  life;  it  is  the  law  of  God ;  causing  the 
external  conduct  to  correspond  to  the  principle  which  is 
established,  and  the  sentiment  which  breathes,  within; 
bringing  every  action  into  a  conformity  with  the  divine 
will,  and  making  universal  holiness  the  standard  of  the 
character. 

The  Scriptures  represent  religion  under  each  of  these 
ditferent  views.  As  a  principle,  it  is  called  Faith  ;  and  in 
this  view  is  faith  extolled  as  the  essential  thing  for  life  and 
salvation.  We  are  to  "  walk  by  faith."  We  are  "  saved 
l)y  faith."  As  a  sentiment,  it  is  styled  Love.  Love  to  God 
and  man  is  declared  by  the  Savior  to  be  the  substance  of 
religion,  and  the  apostles,  especially  John  and  Paul,  every 
where  represcnl  this  universal  affection  as  the  essence  and 
the  beauty  of  the  Christian  character.  No  one  can  read 
their  language,  and  compare  with  it  the  life  of  Christ,  with- 
out perceiving  how  essentially  true  religion  is  a  sentiment 
of  the  heart.  As  a  law  or  rule,  it  is  spoken  of  throughout 
the  Scriptures.  It  is  a  commandment  of  God,  requiring 
obedience.  We  are  "  to  do  his  will."  Christ  is  the  "  au- 
thor of  salvation  to  those  that  obey  him."  "  If  thou  wilt 
enter  into  life,  keep  the  commandments."  "  He  who  keep- 
eth  my  connnandments,  he  it  is  that  loveth  me." 

In  the  general  complexion  of  Scripture,  and  in  many 
particular  passages,  these  several  views  are  united  :  thus  we 
are  told  that  "  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,    peace, 


292  THE  NATURE  OF  RELIGIOX. 

long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  tem- 
perance ;  "  that  the  blessing  of  God  belongs  to  the  humble, 
penitent,  meek,  pure  in  heart,  merciful,  and  peaceful ;  that 
the  Christian  character  consists  in  "  whatsoever  is  true,  hon- 
est, just,  pure,  lovely,  and  of  good  report;"  in  adding  to 
"  faitli,  virtue,  knowledge,  temperance,  patience,  godliness, 
brotherly  kindness,  and  charity  ;  "  and  "  in  denying  ungod- 
liness and  worldly  lusts,  and  living  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly."  * 

You  see,  then,  what  is  the  character  of  the  religion  which 
you  are  seeking.  You  perceive  that  it  implies  the  absolute 
supremacy  of  the  soul  and  its  interests  over  all  the  objects 
and  interests  of  the  present  state ;  and  that  its  primary 
characteristic  is  a  certain  state  of  mind  and  affections.  It 
is  not  the  external  conduct,  not  the  observance  of  the  moral 
law  alone,  which  constitutes  a  religious  man ;  but  the  prin- 
ciples from  which  he  acts,  the  motives  by  whicli  he  is  gov- 
erned, the  state  of  his  heart.  A  principle  of  spiritual  life 
pervades  his  intellectual  nature,  gives  a  complexion  to  his 
whole  temper,  and  is  the  spring  of  that  moral  worth,  which 
is  in  other  men  the  result  of  education,  circumstances,  or 
interest.  He  is  actuated  by  a  prevailing  sense  of  God,  and 
the  desire  of  a  growing  resemblance  to  his  moral  image. 
He  is  possessed  with  the  perpetual  consciousness  of  his  im- 
mortality, and  is  not  ashamed  to  deny  himself  any  of  the 
gratifications  of  the  present  hour,  when  thereby  he  may 
keep  his  mind  more  disengaged  for  the  study  of  truth  and 
the  contemplation  of  his  highest  good.  Living  tluis  with 
his  chief  sources  of  happiness  icithin  him,  he  bears  with 
equanimity  the  changes  and  trials  of  earth,  and  tastes  some- 

•  Gal.  V.  22,  23;  Matt.  v.  3—9  ;  Phil.  iv.  8;  2  Pet.  i.  6,  7;  Tit 
ii.  12. 


THE    NATURE    OK    RELIGION.  293 

Ihing  of  the  peculiar  felicity  of  heaven,  which  is  "  right- 
eousness, and  peace,  and  joy  in  a  Holy  Spirit;"  and,  like 
his  Master,  who  sojourned  below,  but  whose  affections  were 
above,  he  does  his  Father's  will  as  he  passes  through  the 
world,  but  has  treasured  up  his  supreme  good  in  his 
Father's  future  presence. 

But  if  you  would  discern  the  full  excellence  and  loveli- 
ness of  the  religious  life,  do  not  rest  satisfied  with  studying 
the  law,  or  musing  over  the  descriptions  of  it.  Go  to  the 
perfect  pattern,  which  has  been  set  before  the  believer  for 
his  guidance  and  encouragement.  Look  unto  Jesus,  the 
Author  and  Finisher  of  your  faith.  In  him  are  exhibited  all 
the  virtues  which  you  are  to  practise,  all  the  affections  and 
graces  which  you  are  to  cultivate.  In  him  is  that  rich 
assemblage  of  beautiful  and  attractive  excellences,  which  has 
been  the  admiration  of  all  reflecting  men,  the  astonishment 
and  eulogy  of  eloquent  unbelievers,  and  the  guide,  con.sola- 
tiou,  and  trust,  of  faithful  disciples.  In  the  dignity  and 
sweetness  which  characterize  him,  how  strongly  do  we  feel 
that  there  is  much  more  than  a  display  of  external  qualities, 
conformity  to  a  prescribed  rule,  and  graceful  propriety  of 
outward  demeanor  !  Nothing  is  more  striking  xhan  the  evi- 
dent connection  of  every  thing  which  he  said  and  did  with 
something  internal.  The  sentiment  and  disposition  which 
reign  within  are  constantly  visible  through  his  exterior  de- 
portment ;  and  we  regard  his  words  and  his  deeds  less  as 
distinct  outward  things,  than  as  expressions  or  representa- 
tions of  character.  As,  in  looking  on  certain  countenances, 
we  have  no  thought  of  color,  feature,  or  form,  but  simply 
of  the  moral  or  intellectual  qualities  which  they  suggest, 
so,  in  contemplating  the  life  of  Jesns,  we  find  ourselves 
perpetually  looking  beyond  his  mere  actions,  and  fixing  our 
thoughts  on  the  qualities  which  they  indicate.     His  life  is 


294  THE    NATURE    OF    RELIGION. 

but  the  expressive  countenance  of  his  soul.  We  feel  that, 
though  in  the  midst  of  present  things,  he  is  led  by  princi- 
ples, wrapped  in  thoughts,  pervaded  by  sentiments,  which 
are  above  earth,  unearthly  ;  that  he  is  walking  in  commun- 
ion with  another  sphere ;  and  that  the  objects  around  him 
are  matters  of  interest  to  him  no  further  than  as  they  afford 
materials  for  the  exercise  of  his  benevolence  and  opportuni- 
ties for  doing  his  Father's  will. 

This  is  the  personification  of  religion.  This  is  the  model 
which  you  are  to  imitate.  And  it  is  when  you  shall  be  im- 
bued with  this  spirit ;  when  you  shall  be  filled  with  this  sen- 
timent ;  when  your  words,  actions,  and  life,  shall  be  only  the 
spontaneous  expression  of  this  state  of  mind,  —  it  is  then 
that  you  will  have  attained  the  religious  character,  and  be- 
come spiritually  the  child  of  God.  You  will  have  built  up 
the  kingdom  of  God  within  you;  its  purity,  its  devotion, 
and  its  peace,  will  be  shed  abroad  in  your  heart,  and  thence 
will  display  themselves  in  the  manners  and  conduct  of 
your  life. 

To  attain  and  perfect  this  character  is  to  be  the  object  of 
your  desire,  and  the  business  of  your  life.  You  must  never 
lose  sight  o^  it.  In  all  that  you  learn,  think,  feel,  and  do, 
you  are  to  have  reference  to  this  end.  Whatever  tends  to 
promote  this,  you  are  to  cherish  and  favor.  Whatever  hin- 
ders this,  or  in  any  degree  operates  injuriously  upon  it,  you 
are  to  discountenance  and  shun.  All  that  gives  bias  to 
your  passions  and  appetites,  to  your  inclinations  and 
thoughts,  to  your  opinicm  of  yourself,  to  your  conduct 
toward  others,  your  private  or  public  employment  of  your 
time,  your  business  and  gains,  your  recreation  and  pleas- 
ures, is  to  be  judged  of  by  this  standard,  and  condemned  or 
approved  accordingly.  You  are  to  feel  that  nothing  is  of 
Buch  consequence  to  you  as  the  Christian  character ;  that  to 


THE  NATURE    OF    RELIGION.  295 

form  this  is  the  very  work  for  which  you  were  sent  into  the 
world ;  that  if  this  be  not  done,  you  do  nothing,  —  you  had 
better  never  have  been  born ;  for  your  life  is  wasted  without 
effecting  its  object,  and  your  soul  enters  eternity  without 
having  secured  its  salvation.  The  provisions  of  God's 
mercy  are  slighted,  and  for  you  the  Savior  has  lived  and 
died  in  vain. 

It  is  plain,  then,  that  the  work  to  which  you  address  your- 
self is  arduous  as  well  as  delightful.  It  is  not  to  be  done  in 
a  short  time,  nor  by  a  few  indolent  or  violent  efforts  ;  not 
by  an  exercise  of  speculative  reason,  nor  by  an  excitement 
of  feeling,  nor  by  assent  to  professions,  forms,  and  rites ; 
not  by  a  love  of  hearing  the  word  preached,  nor  by  atten- 
tion to  the  morals  of  ordinary  life,  nor  by  steadfastness  in 
the  virtues  which  are  easy  and  pleasant ;  but  only  by  a 
surrender  of  the  whole  man  and  the  entire  life  to  the  will 
of  God,  in  faith,  affection,  and  action;  by  a  thorough  imita- 
tion of  Jesus  in  the  devout  and  humble  temper  of  his  mind, 
in  the  spirituality  of  his  affections,  and  in  the  purity  and 
loveliness  of  his  conduct.  Any  thing  less  than  this,  any 
partial,  external,  superficial  conformity  to  a  rule  of  decent 
living  or  ritual  observance,  must  be  wholly  insuthcient. 
For  it  cannot  mould  and  rule  the  character,  cannot  answer 
the  claims  of  the  Creator  upon  his  creatures,  cannot  pre- 
pare for  the  happiness  which  Jesus  has  revealed  ;  —  a  happi- 
ness so  described,  and  so  constituted,  that  none  can  be 
fitted  for  it,  or  be  capable  of  enjoying  it,  but  those  who  are 
earnestly  and  entirely  conformed  to  the  divine  will.  Who 
can  relish  the  spiritual  pleasures  of  eternity,  that  has  not 
become  spiritually  minded  ?  Who  could  enjoy  admission  to 
the  society  of  Jesus,  and  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect, 
that  is  not  like  them?     Why  should  one  hope  for  heaven, 


296  THE    NATURE    OF    RELIGION. 

and  how  expect  to  be  happy  there,  if  he  have  not  formed  a 
taste  for  its  habits  of  purity,  worship,  and  love  ? 

Be  on  your  guard,  therefore,  from  the  first,  against  setting 
your  mark  too  low.  Do  not  allow  yourself  to  be  persuaded 
that  any  thing  less  is  religion,  or  will  answer  for  you,  than 
its  complete  and  highest  measure.  Remember  that  these 
things  must  be  "  in  you  and  abound."  The  higher  you 
aim,  the  higher  you  will  reach  ;  but  if  content  with  a  low 
aim,  you  will  forever  fall  short.  The  scriptural  word  is 
perfection.  Strive  after  that.  Never  be  satisfied  while 
short  of  it,  and  then  you  will  be  always  improving.  But  if 
you  set  yourself  some  definite  measure  of  goodness,  if 
you  prescribe  to  yourself  some  limit  in  devotion  and  love, 
you  will  by  and  by  fancy  you  have  reached  it,  and  thus  will 
remain  stationary  in  a  condition  far  below  what  you  might 
have  attained.  Remember,  always,  that  you  are  capable  of 
being  more  devout,  more  charitable,  more  humble,  more  de- 
voted and  earnest  in  doing  good,  better  acquainted  with 
religious  truth  ;  and  that,  as  it  is  impossible  there  should  be 
any  period  to  the  progress  of  the  human  soul,  so  it  is  im- 
possible that  the  endeavor  of  the  soul  should  be  too  exalted. 
It  is  because  men  do  not  think  of  this,  or  do  not  practically 
apply  it,  that  so  many,  even  of  those  who  intend  to  govern 
themselves  by  religious  motives,  remain  so  lamentably  defi- 
cient in  excellence.  They  adopt  a  low  or  a  partial  stand- 
ard, and  strive  after  it  sluggishly,  and  thus  come  to  a  period 
in  religion  before  they  arrive  at  the  close  of  life.  Happy 
they  who  are  so  filled  with  longings  after  spiritual  good,  that 
they  go  on  improving  to  the  end  of  their  days. 


OUR  POWER  TO  OBTAIN  THAT  WHICH  WE  SEEK.  297 

CHAPTER   II. 

ovn   I'owr.K  to  ohtain  that  wjikii  we  seek. 

The  account  which  has  been  given  of  religion  in  the 
preceding  chapter  shows  it  to  be  consonant  to  man's  nature, 
and  suited  to  the  faculties  with  which  God  has  endowed 
him.  Ilis  soul  is  formed  for  religion,  and  the  gospel  has 
been  adapted  to  the  constitution  of  his  soul.  His  under- 
standing takes  cognizance  of  its  truths,  his  conscience 
applies  them,  his  affections  are  capable  of  becoming  inter- 
ested in  them,  and  his  will  of  being  subject  to  them.  There 
can  be  no  moment  of  existence,  after  he  has  come  to  the 
exercise  of  his  rational  faculties,  at  which  this  is  not  the 
case.  As  soon  as  he  can  love  and  obey  his  parents,  he  can 
love  and  obey  God ;  and  this  is  religion.  The  capacity  of 
doing  the  one  is  the  capacity  of  doing  the  other. 

It  is  true,  the  latter  is  not  so  universally  done  as  the 
former;  but  the  cause  is  not,  that  religion  is  unsuited  to  the 
young,  but  that  their  attention  is  engrossed  by  visible  objects 
and  present  pleasures.  Occupied  with  these,  it  requires 
effort  and  painstaking  to  direct  the  mind  to  invisible  things; 
to  turn  the  attention  from  the  objects  which  press  them  on 
every  side,  to  the  abstract,  spiritual  objects  of  faith.  Hence 
it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  want  of  early  religion  is  owing, 
primarily,  to  the  circumstances  in  which  childhood  is 
placed,  and,  next,  to  remissness  in  education.  Worldly 
things  are  before  the  child's  eye,  and  minister  to  its  gratifi- 
cation every  hour  and  every  minute ;  but  religious  things 
are  presented  to  it  only  in  a  formal  and  dry  way  once  a 
week.  The  things  of  the  world  are  made  to  constitute  its 
pleasures  ;  those  of  religion  are  made  its  tasks.     It  is  made 


298  OUR  POWER  TO  OBTAIN  THAT  WHICH  WE  SEEK 

to  feel  its  dependence  on  a  parent's  Jove  every  hour  ;  but  ia 
seldom  reminded  of  its  dependence  on  God,  and  then,  per- 
haps, only  in  some  stated  lesson,  which  it  learns  by  com- 
pulsion, and  not  in  the  midst  of  the  actual  engagements  and 
pleasures  of  its  little  life.  It  partakes  of  the  caresses  of  its 
human  parents,  and  cannot  remember  the  time  when  it  was 
not  an  object  of  their  tenderness ;  so  that  their  image  is 
interwoven  with  its  very  existence.  But  God  it  has  never 
seen,  and  has  seldom  heard  of  him ;  his  name  and  presence 
are  banished  from  common  conversation,  and  inferior  and 
visible  agents  receive  the  gratitude  for  gifts  which  come 
from  him.  So  also  the  parent's  authority  is  immediate  and 
visibly  exercised,  and  obedience  grows  into  the  rule  and 
habit  of  life.  But  the  authority  of  God  is  not  displayed  in 
any  sensible  act  or  declaration ;  it  is  only  heard  of  at  set 
times  and  in  set  tasks;  and  thus  it  fails  of  becoming  min- 
gled with  the  principles  of  conduct,  or  forming  a  rule  and 
habit  of  subjection.  In  a  word,  let  it  be  considered  how  little 
and  how  infrequently  the  idea  of  God  is  brought  home  to  the 
child's  mind,  even  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances, 
and  how  little  is  done  to  make  him  the  object  of  love  and  obe- 
dience, in  comparison  with  what  is  done  to  unite  its  affec- 
tions to  its  parents ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  spiritutility 
and  invisibility  of  the  Creator  render  it  necessary  that  even 
more  should  be  done ;  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  want  of  an 
early  and  spontaneous  growth  of  the  religious  character  is 
not  owing  to  the  want  of  original  capacity  for  religion,  but 
is  to  be  traced  to  the  unpropitious  circumstances  in  which 
childhood  is  passed,  and  the  want  of  uniform,  earnest,  per- 
severing instruction. 

I  have  made  this  statement  for  two  reasims.  First,  be- 
cause I  tliink  it  points  out  the  innnense  importance  of  a  re- 
ligions, education,  and  is  an  urgent  call  upon  parents  for 


OUR  POWER  TO  OBTAIN  THAT   WHICH  WE  SEEK.  299 

greater  diligence  in  tliis  duty.  No  parent  will  deliberately 
say,  in  excuse  for  his  neglect,  that  his  children  arc  inca- 
pable of  apprehending  and  performing  their  duty  to  God. 
lie  will  perceive  that  the  same  operation  of  circumstances 
and  of  unceasing  influences,  which  has  made  them  devoted 
to  him,  woidd  make  them  devoted  to  God ;  and  religion  is 
that  state  of  mind  toward  God  which  a  good  child  exer- 
cises toward  a  parent.  It  is  the  same  principle  and  the 
same  affections,  fixing  themselves  on  an  infinitely  higher 
object.  Let  parents  be  aware  of  this,  and  they  will  feel 
the  call  and  the  encouragement  to  a  more  systematic  and 
affectionate  attention  to  the  religious  instruction  of  their 
children. 

I  have  made  this  statement,  moreover,  because  it  offers  a 
guide  to  those  who  have  passed  through  childhood  without 
permanent  religious  impressions,  and  are  now  desirous  of 
attaining  them.  It  is  principally  for  such  that  I  write. 
They  maybe  divided  into  many  classes;  some  more  and 
some  less  distant  from  the  kingdom  of  God ;  .some  profli- 
gate, some  indifferent ;  some  with  much  goodness  of  out- 
ward performance,  but  with  no  internal  principle  of  faith 
and  piety ;  and  some  without  even  external  conformity  to 
right.  But  however  differing  in  their  past  course  of  life, 
and  in  the  peculiar  habits  and  di.^positions  which  charac- 
terize them,  in  one  thing  they  now  agree,  —  they  are  sen- 
sible of  their  errors  and  sins,  and  desire  to  apply  themselves 
to  that  true  and  living  way,  which  shall  lead  them  to  the 
favor  of  God  and  everlasting  life.  They  feel  that  there  is  a 
great  work  to  be  done,  a  great  change  to  be  effected,  either 
internally  or  externally,  or  both,  and  they  are  desirous  to 
learn  in  wliat  manner  it  shall  be  accomplished. 

To  such  persons  the  statement  which  I  have  made  above 
may  be  useful.     Let  them  look  back  to  it,  and  reflect  upon 


300     OUR  POWER  TO  OBTAIN  THAT  WHICH  WE  SEEK. 

it.  God  has  given  them  powers  for  doing  the  work  which 
he  has  assigned  to  them.  That  work  is  expressed  in  one 
word  —  the  comprehensive  name  Religion,  That  work 
they  should  have  begun  and  perseveringly  pursued  from 
their  earliest  days.  But  tliey  have  done  otherwise.  They 
have  wandered  from  duty,  and  been  unfaithful  to  God. 
They  have  gone  far  from  him,  like  the  unwise  prodigal, 
and  wasted  the  portion  he  gave  them  in  vicious  or  unprofit- 
able pursuits.  They  have  cultivated  the  animal  life;  they 
have  lived  "  according  to  the  flesh."  They  need  to  culti- 
vate the  spiritual  life;  to  live  "according  to  the  Spirit." 
There  is  an  animal  life,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  life.  Man 
is  born  into  the  first  at  the  birth  of  his  body  ;  he  is  born 
into  the  second  when  he  subjects  himself  to  the  power  of 
religion,  and  prefers  his  rational  and  immortal  to  his  sen- 
sual nature.  During  his  earliest  days,  he  is  an  animal  only, 
pursuing,  like  other  animals,  the  wants  and  desires  of  his 
body,  and  consulting  his  present  gratification  and  immediate 
interest.  But  it  is  not  designed  that  he  shall  continue  thus. 
He  is  made  for  something  better  and  higher.  He  has  a 
nobler  nature  and  nobler  interests.  He  must  learn  to  live 
for  these;  and  this  learning  to  feel  and  value  his  spiritual 
nature,  and  to  live  for  eternity  —  this  change  from  the  animal 
and  earthly  existence  of  infancy  to  a  rational,  moral,  spirit- 
ual existence, —  this  is  to  be  born  into  the  spiritual  life. 
This  is  a  renovation  of  principle  and  purpose  through  which 
every  one  must  pavss.  Every  one  must  thus  turn  from  his 
natural  devotion  to  things  earthly  to  a  devotion  to  things 
heavenly.  This  change  it  is  the  object  of  the  gospel  to 
effect ;  and  we  seek  no  less  than  this,  when  we  seek  the 
influence  of  the  gospel  on  our  souls. 

Now,  the  persons  of  whom  I  am  speaking  have  not  yet 
acquired  this   new  taste   and  principle.     It  has  made,  with 


OUR  rOWEK  TO  OBTAIN  THAT  WHICH  WE  SEEK.  301 

tliein,  no  part  of  the  process  of  education.  It  is  yet  to  be 
acquired.  They  are  desirous  of  acquiring  it.  Let  them 
first  be  persuaded  of  its  absolute  neccssiti/.  Until  this  is 
felt,  nothing  can  be  etFoctually  done.  Without  it,  there 
will  be  no  such  strenuous  effort  for  religious  attainment  as 
is  necessary  to  success.  Many  persons  have  at  times,  some 
have  frequently,  a  certain  conviction  upon  their  minds,  that 
they  are  not  passing  their  lives  as  they  ought,  and  they  make 
lialf  a  resolution  to  do  differently.  They  are  ill-content 
with  their  condition ;  they  long  to  be  free  from  the  re- 
proaches of  conscience ;  tiicy  wish  to  be  assured  that  their 
souls  are  safe.  But,  although  uneasy  and  dissatisfied,  they 
take  no  steps  toward  improving  their  condition,  because 
they  have  no  proper  persuasion  of  its  absolute  necessity. 
They  must  be  deeply  convinced  of  this.  They  must  strong- 
ly feel  that  a  state  of  indifference  is  a  state  of  danger  ;  that 
they  are  on  the  brink  of  ruin,  so  long  as  they  are  alienated 
from  God,  and  governed  by  passion,  appetite,  and  inclina- 
tion, rather  than  a  sense  of  duty.  And  such  is  the  power 
of  habit,  that  they  in  vain  hope  to  be  delivered  from  its 
bondage,  and  to  become  consistent  followers  of  Christ, 
unless  a  strong  feeling  shall  lead  them  to  make  a  resolute, 
energetic  effort.  If  they  allow  themselves  to  fancy  that  it 
will  be  time  enough  by  and  by ;  that,  after  all,  the  case  is 
not  very  desperate,  but  can  be  remedied  at  any  time ;  and 
that  it  would  be  a  pity  yet  to  abandon  their  pleasant  vices  — 
then  there  is  no  hope  for  them.  They  are  cherishing  the 
most  dangerous  of  aJl  states  of  mind  —  a  state  which  pre- 
vents all  real  desire  for  improvement,  is  continually  weak- 
ening their  power  of  change,  and  absolutely  destroys  the 
prospect  of  amendment.  They  must  begin  the  remedy  by 
a  persuasion  of  its  necessity.  They  must  feel  it  so  strongly, 
that  they  caimot  rest  content  without  iinmcfyatcly  subjecting 


302  OUR  POWER  TO  OBTAIN  THAT  WHICH  WE  SEEK. 

themselves  to  the  dominion  of  religion,  —  as  a  starving  man 
feels  the  necessity  of  immediately  applying  to  the  search  for 
food.  No  man  will  give  himself  to  the  thoughts,  studies, 
devotions,  and  charities,  of  a  religious  life,  who  does  not 
find  them  essential  to  the  satisfaction  and  peace  of  his  mind  ; 
that  is,  who  is  satisfied  without  them.  Cherish,  therefore, 
the  conviction  of  this  necessity.  Cultivate  by  every  pos- 
sible means  a  deep  persuasion  of  the  truth,  that  the  service 
and  love  of  God  are  the  only  sufficient  sources  of  happiness  ; 
and  that  only  pain  and  shame  can  await  him  who  withholds 
his  soul  from  the  light  and  purity  for  which  it  was  made. 

Feeling  thus  the  importance  of  a  religious  life,  let  them 
next  be  persuaded  that  its  attainment  is  entirely  in  their 
power.  It  is  but  to  use  the  faculties  which  God  has  given 
them,  in  the  work  and  with  the  aid  which  God  has  ap- 
pointed. No  one  will  venture  to  say  that  he  is  incapable  of 
this.  A  religious  life,  as  we  have  seen,  grows  out  of  the 
relations  in  which  man  stands  to  God  and  his  fellow-men ; 
and  as  he  is  made  accountable  for  the  performance  of  the 
duties  of  these  relations,  it  is  impossible  that  he  is  not  cre- 
ated capable  of  performing  them.  It  were  as  reasonable  to 
urge  that  a  child  cannot  love  and  obey  its  father  and  mother, 
as  that  a  man  cannot  love  and  obey  God. 

Yet  it  so  happens,  that  some  profess  to  be  deterred  from 
a  religious  course  by  the  apprehension  that  it  is  not  in  their 
power ;  it  is  something  which  it  must  be  given  them  to  do ; 
a  work  which  must  be  wrought  in  them  by  a  supernatural 
energy  ;  they  must  wait  till  their  time  has  come.  But  every 
apology  for  irreligion,  founded  on  reasons  like  this,  is  evi- 
dently deceptive.  It  proceeds  upon  wrong  notions  respect- 
ing the  divine  aid  imparted  to  man.  That  this  aid  is  needed, 
and  is  given  in  the  Christian  life,  is  a  true  and  comforting 
doctrine.     But  yiat  it  is  to  supersede  human  exertion,  that  it 


OUR  PUW'KK  TO  OBTAIN  THAT  WHICH  WE  SEEK.  333 

18  a  reason  for  indnlciice  and  religions  neglect,  is  a  false  and 
pernicious  notion,  —  countenanced,  I  will  venture  to  affirm, 
by  no  one  whose  opinion  or  example  is  honored  or  followed 
in  the  Ciiristian  church.  On  the  contrary,  ail  agree  in  de- 
claring, with  the  apostle,  that,  while  "  God  works  in  us  to 
will  and  to  do,"  we  are  to  "  work  out  our  own  salvation  ;  " 
and  to  do  it  with  "  fear  and  trembling,"  because,  after  all, 
these  divine  influences  will  be  vain  without  our  own  dili- 
gence. 

In  some  persons,  this  notion  takes  the  form  of  a  real  or 
fancied  humility.  They  fear  lest  they  be  found  seeking  sal- 
vation through  their  own  works,  and  relying  on  their  own 
merits.  But  what  a  strange  humility  this,  which  leads  to  a 
disregard  of  the  divine  will,  and  disobedience  to  the  divine 
commands  ;  which  virtually  says,  "  I  will  continue  in  sin, 
that  grace  may  abound"  !  Let  me  ask,  too,  Who  will  trust 
to  receive  salvation  without  actual  obedience  ?  Where  is  it 
promised  to  those  who  will  do  nothing  in  the  way  of  self- 
government  and  active  virtue?  Where  is  it  oifered  to  any, 
but  those  who  seek  it  by  "  bringing  forth  fruits  meet  for  re- 
pentance," and  by  "patient  continuance  in  well-doing"? 

And  let  none  fear  lest  this  make  void  the  grace  of  God. 
For  how  is  it  that  grace  leads  to  salvation?  Is  it  by  arbi- 
trarily fitting  the  soul  for  it,  and  ushering  it  into  heaven 
without  its  own  cooperation  1  Or  is  it  not  rather  by  open- 
ing a  free  highway  to  the  kingdom  of  life,  through  which 
all  may  walk  and  be  saved?  This  is  what  the  Savior  has 
done;  he  has  made  the  path  of  life  accessible  and  plain,  has 
thrown  open  the  gate  of  heaven,  has  taught  men  how  to 
enter  in  and  reach  their  bliss.  Whoever  pursues  this  path, 
and  enters  "  through  the  gate  into  tiie  city,"  is  saved  by 
grace.  For  though  he  has  used  his  own  powers  to  travel  on 
this  highway,  yet  he  did  not  e.^^tablish  that  highway ;  nor 


304  OUR  POWER  TO  OBTAIN  THAT  'WHICH  WE  SEEK. 

could  he  have  traversed  it  without  guidance  and  aid ;  nor 
could  he  have  opened  for  himself  the  door  of  entrance. 
Heaven  is  still  a  free  gift,  inasmuch  as  it  is  granted  by 
infinite  benignity  to  those  who  did  not,  do  not,  and  cannot 
deserve  it.  Yet  there  are  certain  conditions  to  be  per- 
formed ;  and  to  refuse  the  performance  of  those  condi- 
tions, on  the  plea  that  you  thus  derogate  from  the  mercy  of 
God,  and  do  something  to  purchase  or  merit  happiness,  is  a 
madness  which  ought  to  be  strenuously  opposed,  or  it  will 
leave  you  to  perish  in  your  sins. 

These  two  things,  then,  may  be  regarded  as  axioms  of 
the  religious  life;  first,  that  a  man's  own  labors  are  essential 
to  his  salvation ;  second,  that  his  utmost  virtue  does  noth- 
ing toward  purchasing  or  meriting  salvation.  When  he  has 
done  all  his  duty,  he  is  still,  as  the  Savior  declares,  but  an 
"  unprofitable  servant."  lie  has  been  more  than  recom- 
pensed by  the  blessings  of  this  present  life.  That  the  hap- 
piness of  an  eternal  state  may  be  attained,  in  addition  to 
these,  is  a  provision  of  pure  grace ;  and  it  is  mere  insanity 
to  neglect  the  duties  of  religion  through  any  fear  lest  you 
should  seem  to  be  seeking  heaven  on  the  ground  of  your 
own  desert.  Virtue  would  be  your  duty,  though  you  were 
to  perish  forever  at  the  grave  ;  and  that  God  has  opened  to 
his  children  the  prospect  of  a  future  inheritance  infinitely 
disproportioned  to  their  merit,  is  only  a  further  reason  for 
making  virtue  your  first  and  chief  pursuit. 

It  is  true,  there  is  great  infirmity  in  human  nature  ;  and 
you  will  find  yourself  perplexed  and  harassed  by  tempta- 
tions from  without  and  within.  Passion,  appetite,  pleasure, 
and  care,  solicit  and  urge  you,  and  render  it  not  easy  to  keep 
yourself  unspotted  from  the  world.  But  what  then  ?  Does 
this  excuse  the  want  of  exertion  ?  Is  this  a  good  reason 
for  sitting  idly  with  folded  arms,  and  saying.  It  is  all  vain ; 


OUR  POWER  TO  OBTAIN  THAT  WHICH  WE  SEEK.  303 

1  am  wretchedly  weak  ;  I  cannot  undertake  this  work  till 
God  gives  me  strength?  Believe  nie,  there  is  no  humility 
in  this.  Think  of  yourself  and  of  your  deserts  as  humbly 
as  you  please  ;  but  to  think  so  meanly  of  the  powers  God 
has  given  you,  as  to  deem  them  insufficient  for  the  work  he 
has  assigned  you,  is  less  humility  than  ingratitude  and  want 
of  faith.  Nothing  is  truer  than  this,  —  that  your  work  is 
proportioned  to  your  powers,  and  your  trials  to  your  strength. 
*'  No  temptation  hath  taken  you  but  such  as  is  common 
to  man  ;  but  God  is  faithful,  who  will  not  suffer  you  to  be 
tempted  above  that  ye  are  able  ;  but  will,  with  the  tempta- 
tion, also  make  a  way  to  escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear 
it."  Here  is  the  manifestation  of  peculiar  grace;  when  a 
sincere  and  humble  spirit,  in  its  earnest  search  for  the  true 
way,  encounters  obstacles,  hardships,  and  opposition,  at  this 
moment  it  is  that  aid  from  on  high  is  interposed.  The 
promise  to  Paul  is  fulfilled,  "  My  strength  is  made  perfect  in 
weakness."  "  The  Spirit  helpeth  our  infirmities."  Let  it  be, 
then,  that  human  nature  is  weak ;  no  work  is  appointed 
greater  than  its  power,  and  it  "  can  do  all  things  through 
Christ,  who  strengtheneth." 

Be  thoroughly  persuaded,  therefore,  that  the  work  before 
you  is  wholly  within  your  power.  Nothing  has  a  more 
palsying  effect  on  one's  exertions  in  any  enterprise,  than  the 
doubt  whether  he  be  equal  to  it.  Something  like  confi- 
dence is  necessary  to  enable  him  to  pursue  it  vigorously 
and  perscverinixly.  It  is  as  necessary  in  action  as  the 
apostle  represents  it  to  be  in  prayer.  "  He  that  wavereth 
or  doubteth  is  like  a  wave  of  the  sea,  driven  by  the  wind 
and  tossed."  But  when  he  has  confidence,  as  the  Christian 
may  have,  that  his  strength  is  equal  to  his  task,  that  he 
cannot  fiil  if  he  resolutely  go  forward,  and  that  all  hiuder- 
ances  must  disappear  before  a  steady  and  industrious  zeal, 
•20* 


306   STATE  OF  MIND  NECESSARY  FOR  THE  INQUIRER, 

which  leans  upon  God,  and  is  strong  in  the  power  of  the 
Lord,  then  he  presses  on  with  alacrity,  encounters  trials 
without  alarm,  and  is  "  steadfast,  immovable,  always  abound- 
in  the  work  of  the  Lord ;  knowing  that  his  labor  is  not  in 
vain  in  the  Lord ;  "  for  that  nothing  but  his  own  fault  can 
bar  him  out  of  heaven,  or  cause  him  to  fail  of  eternal  life. 

And  all  this  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the  deepest 
humility,  and  the  profoundest  sense  of  dependence  on 
God. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    STATE    OF    MIND    IN    WHICH    THE    INQUIRER    SHOULD 
SUSTAIN    HIMSELF. 

All  this,  I  say,  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the  deepest 
humility  and  most  unassuming  dependence  upon  God.  If 
it  were  not,  it  would  be  false  and  wrong ;  for  an  humble  and 
dependent  disposition  is  a  prime  requisite  in  the  Christian  — 
a  grace  to  be  especially  cultivated  at  the  beginning  of  the 
religious  course.  It  is  concerning  this  state  of  mind  that 
we  are  now  to  speak. 

Deep  religious  impressions  are  always  accompanied  by  a 
sense  of  personal  unworthiness,  and  not  unfrequently  com- 
mence with  it.  It  is  man's  acquaintance  with  himself 
which  leads  him  most  earnestly  to  seek  the  acquaintance  of 
God,  and  to  perceive  the  need  of  his  favor.  The  sense  of 
sin;  the  feeling  that  his  life  has  not  been  right;  that  his 
heart  is  not  pure  ;  that  his  thoughts,  dispositions,  appetites, 
passions,  have  not  been  duly  regulated ;   that  he  has  lived 


STATE  OF  MIND  NECESSARY  FOR  THE  INQUIRER.   307 

according  to  his  own  will,  and  not  that  of  God  ;  that,  if 
taken  from  his  worldly  possessions,  he  has  no  other  object 
of  desire  and  affection  to  which  his  heart  could  cling ;  if 
called  to  judgment  for  the  use  of  his  powers  and  privileges, 
he  must  be  speechless  and  hopeless  ;  —  all  this  rises  solemnly 
to  his  mind,  and  sinks  him  low  under  a  sense  of  ill  desert 
and  shame.  He  sees  that  he  might  have  been,  ought  to 
have  been,  better;  that  he  might  have  been,  ought  to  have 
been,  obedient  to  God,  and  a  follower  of  all  that  is  good. 
He  cannot  excuse  himself  to  himself  Every  effort  to  palli- 
ate his  guilt  only  shows  him  its  aggravation  ;  and  he  cries 
out,  with  the  penitent  prodigal,  "  Father,  I  have  sinned 
against  Heaven,  and  in  thy  sight,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to 
be  called  thy  son."  He  has  offended  against  knowledge 
and  opportunity,  and  in  spite  of  instruction  and  warning. 
He  looks  back  to  the  early  and  innocent  days,  when,  if  his 
Savior  had  been  on  earth,  he  might  have  taken  him  to  his 
arms,  and  said,  "  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God.  '  But, 
alas!  how  has  he  been  changed!  He  has  parted  with  that 
innocence,  he  has  strayed  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  he 
has  defiled  and  lost  the  image  of  his  Maker.  While  he 
dwells  on  this  thought  of  what  he  was,  and  what  he  might 
have  become,  and  contrasts  it  with  what  he  is,  he  is  filled 
with  remorse.  He  exaggerates  to  himself  all  his  failings ; 
paints,  in  blacker  colors  than  even  the  truth  all  his  iniqui- 
ties;  counts  himself  the  chief  of  sinners;  and  is  almost 
ready  to  despair  of  mercy. 

When  the  mind  is  strongly  agitated  in  this  way,  it  is  sur- 
prising how  the  characters  of  very  different  men  become,  as 
it  were,  equalized.  Of  niany  individuals,  differing  in  the 
most  various  ways  as  regards  the  number  and  nature,  the 
magnitude  and  circumstances,  of  their  offences,  and  most 
widely  separated  in  the  actual  scale  of  demerit,  each,  at  such 


308   STATE  OF  MIND  NECESSARY  FOR  THE  INQUIRER. 

a  season,  regards  himself  as  the  most  guilty  of  men.  Some- 
times the  liigh-wrought  expressions,  in  which  the  victim  of 
remorse  vents  the  excruciating  anguish  of  his  mind,  are 
accounted  affectation  and  hypocrisy.  But  there  can  be  no 
good  reason  to  doubt  that  they  are  entirely  sincere.  The 
man  honestly  describes  himself  as  he  seems  to  himself  at 
the  time.  He  is,  in  his  own  eyes,  the  wretch  he  draws. 
And  this  is  very  easily  explained.  He  sees,  at  one  view,  all 
his  past  sins,  open  and  secret;  his  thoughtlessness,  ingrati- 
tude, negligence,  and  omissions ;  his  depraved  inclinations, 
evil  desires,  and  cherished  lusts ;  which  no  one  else  knows, 
and  which  no  one  else  could  compare,  as  he  can,  with  his 
privileges  and  obligations.  All  these  he  sets  by  the  side, 
not  of  the  hidden  and  private  life  of  others,  but  of  their 
decent  public  demeanor.  He  compares  them,  too,  not  with 
the  standard  of  worldly,  outward  morality,  but  with  the 
strict,  searching,  holy  requisitions  of  the  law  of  God.  And 
in  such  a  comparison,  at  such  a  moment,  he  cannot  but  re- 
gard himself  as  most  unworthy  and  depraved. 

And  we  need  not  be  too  anxious  at  once  to  correct  this 
feeling.  The  abasement  is  well ;  for  no  one  can  feel  guilt 
too  strongly,  or  abhor  sin  too  deeply.  The  time  will  come 
when  he  will  learn  to  follow  the  direction  of  the  apostle, 
and  "  think  of  himself  soberly,  as  he  ought  to  think."  But 
at  this  first  fair  inspection  of  the  deformities  of  his  charac- 
ter, it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  he  should  make  his  estimate 
with  perfect  sobriety.  Only  let  every  thing  be  done  to 
guide,  and  soothe,  and  encourage  him,  and  nothing  to  ex- 
asperate his  self-condemnation,  or  drive  him  to  insanity  or 
despair. 

But  such  a  state  of  mind  as  I  have  described,  though  not 
uncommon,  and  by  many  cherished  as  the  most  desirable 
and  suitable  at  the  commencement  of  the  religious  life,  is 


STATE    OF    MIND    NECESSARY    FOR    THE    INQ0IRER.       3C9 

by  no  means  universal  at  that  period,  and  cannot  be  regard- 
ed as  essential.  The  experience  of  difTerent  individuals  in 
this  respect  greatly  varies,  and  is  much  affected  by  temper 
and  disposition,  as  well  as  by  other  circumstances.  Many 
excellent  Christians  have  never  been  subjected  to  those 
violent  and  torturing  emotions,  which  have  shaken  and  con- 
vulsed others.  Tlieir  cour.se  has  been  placid  and  serene, 
though  solemn  and  humble.  They  have  felt  their  sin,  and 
have  mourned  beneath  it,  and  in  deep  humiliation  have 
sought  its  forgiveness;  but  without  any  thing  of  terrified 
emotion  or  gloomy  despondency.  They  have  been  gently 
won  to  truth  by  the  mild  invitations  of  parental  love,  with- 
out needing  the  fearful  denunciations  of  punishment  and 
wrath  to  awaken  them.  This  difference  among  individuals 
is  owing  partly,  as  I  said,  to  constitutional  difference  of  tem- 
perament, which  renders  it  impossible  that  the  same  repre- 
sentations should  affect  all  alike;  and  partly  to  the  differ- 
ent modes  in  which  religion  is  presented  to  different  minds; 
having  first  appeared  to  some  in  its  harsher  features,  as  to 
the  Jews  on  Sinai,  and  to  others  in  the  milder  form  of  a 
Savior's  compassion.  But,  however  this  may  be,  and  how- 
ever the  humiliation  of  one  may  wear  a  different  complex- 
ion from  that  of  another,  it  is  a  state  of  mind  sincere  and 
heartfelt  in  all,  to  be  studiously  cherished,  and  to  be  made 
permanent  in  the  character. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  life,  this  feeling  assumes 
the  form  of  anxiety,  as  it  afterward  leads  to  watchfulness. 
This  word  may,  perhaps  as  well  as  any,  describe  the  state 
of  those  for  whom  I  am  writing.  They  are  aniiuus  about 
themselves,  about  their  characters,  their  condition,  their 
prospects.  They  are  anxious  to  know  what  they  shall  do  to 
be  saved,  and  to  gain  satisfactory  assurance  that  they  shall 
be  pardoned  and  accepted  of  God.     This  is  a  most  reason- 


310 


STATE    OF    MIND    NECESSARY    FOR    THE    INQUIRER, 


able  solicitude.  What  can  be  more  reasonable  than  such  a 
solicitude  for  the  greatest  and  most  lasting  good  of  man  ? 
What  more  becoming  a  rational  creature,  whose  eternal 
welfare  is  dependent  on  his  own  choice  between  good  and 
evil,  than  this  desire  to  know  and  pursue  the  right?  this 
earnest  thoughtful ness  respecting  his  condition?  and  this 
inquiry  for  the  true  end  of  his  being  ?  If  a  person,  hith- 
erto thoughtless,  is  in  this  state  of  mind,  he  is  to  be  con- 
gratulated upon  it.  We  are  to  be  thankful  to  God  in  his 
behalf,  that  another  immortal  soul  is  awake  to  its  responsi- 
bility, and  seeking  real  happiness.  We  would  urge  him  to 
cherish  the  feelings  which  possess  him;  not  with  melan- 
choly despondency  ;  not  with  superstitious  gloom  ;  not  with 
unmanly  and  unmeaning  debasement;  but  with  thoughtful, 
self-distrusting  concern,  with  deliberate  study  for  the  path 
of  dirty,  and  a  resolute  purpose  not  to  swerve  from  it. 

Remember  that  much  depends,  I  might  say  every  thinor 
depends,  on  the  use  you  make  of  this  your  present  disposi- 
tion. Be  faithful  to  it,  obey  its  promptings,  let  it  form  in 
you  the  habit  of  devout  reflection  and  religious  action,  and 
all  must  be  well.  The  issue  will  be  the  Christian  character, 
and  the  soul's  salvation.  But  refuse  to  cherish  this  disposi- 
tion, drive  it  from  you,  smother  and  ^ilence  it,  and  you  will 
probably  do  yourself  an  everlasting  injury.  It  is  like  put- 
ting out  a  fire  which  has  just  been  lighted,  and  which  n)ny 
with  difficulty  be  kindled  again.  It  is  trifling  with  the  sen- 
sibility of  conscience,  it  is  bringing  hardness  upon  your 
heart ;  and  there  is  less  prospect  that  you  will  afterward 
arrive  at  an  habitual  and  controlling  regard  for  your  reli- 
gious interests.     This  it  is  to  "  quench  the  Spirit." 

Be  sensible,  therefore,  that  this  is  a  critical  moment  in 
the  history  of  your  character  ;  that  it  is  in  many  respects  tl-.o 
decisive  point  at  which  your  destiny  is  to  be  determined. 


STATE    OF    MIND    NECESSARY    FOR    THE    INQUIHER.       311 

For  now  it  is,  in  all  probability,  that  the  bias  of  your  mind 
is  to  be  determined  for  good  or  evil.  Be  sensible,  then, 
how  necessary  it  is  that  you  keep  alive,  and  cultivate  by  all 
possible  means,  this  tenderness  of  heart.  Avoid  every  pur- 
suit, engagement,  and  company,  which  you  find  to  be 
inconsistent  with  it,  or  unfavorable  to  it,  or  tending  to  de- 
stroy it.  Scenes  at  other  times  innocent  should  now  be 
shunned,  if  they  operate  to  turn  the  current  of  your  affec- 
tions ;  for  you  are  engaging  in  a  great  work,  the  giving 
your  heart  a  permanent  bias  toward  God,  and  it  ought  not 
to  be  interrupted.  While  this  is  doing,  you  can  well  afford 
to  withdraw  from  many  scenes  you  might  otherwise  fre- 
quent ;  and,  indeed,  you  can  ill  afford  the  risk  of  exposing 
yourself  to  their  influence. 

It  may  be  well  to  observe  another  caution.  Say  nothing 
of  your  thoughts  and  feelings  to  any,  but  one  or  two  confi- 
dential friends.  Many  a  religious  character  has  been 
spoiled  in  the  forming,  by  too  much  talk  with  too  many 
persons.  The  best  religious  character  is  formed  in  retire- 
ment, by  much  silent  reflection,  and  private  re.ading  and 
prayer.  What  the  soul  needs  above  all  things,  is  to  com- 
mune with  itself  and  with  God ;  then  it  is  established, 
strengthened,  settled.  But  if  a  man  go  out  from  his  closet, 
and  seek  for  instruction  and  guidance  by  talking  with  all 
who  will  talk  with  him,  he  fritters  away  his  feelings;  his 
frame  becomes  less  deeply  and  essentially  spiritual ;  words 
take  the  place  of  sentiment ;  and  ho  is  very  likely  to  become 
a  talkative,  fluent,  superficial  religionist,  with  much  shaw 
of  sound  doctrine,  and  a  goodly  readiness  of  sound  speech, 
but  without  substantial  principle.  Shun,  therefore,  rather 
than  seek,  much  communication  with  many  person.s.  But 
some  counsel  and  encouragement  you  may  need.  Apply, 
therefore,  to  your  minister.     He  is  your  legitimate  and  true 


312   STATE  OF  MIND  NECESSARY  FOR  THE  INQUIRER. 

counsellor,  and  he  will  be  glad,  in  friendly  and  confidentid 
intercourse,  to  lead  you  on.  You  may  have  also  some  pious 
friend,  to  whom,  possibly,  you  may  unbosom  yourself  more 
freely  than  you  have  courage  to  do  to  your  minister  ;  and 
he  may,  in  some  particulars,  give  you  aid,  which  the  situa- 
tion of  the  pastor  may  put  it  out  of  his  power  to  afford. 
In  this  manner,  feel  your  way  along  quietly,  silently, 
steadily.  Let  the  growth  within  you  be  like  that  of  the 
grain  of  wheat,  which  germinates  in  secret,  and  springs  up 
without  observation,  and  attracts  little  notice  of  men,  till  it 
shows  "  the  ear  and  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  Be  anxious 
to  establish  yourself  firmly  in  the  power  of  godliness,  before 
you  exhibit  its  form. 

In  connection  with  this,  it  may  be  well  to  add  a  caution 
on  a  kindred  point.  Do  not  spend  too  much  time  in  public 
meetings.  You  will,  of  course,  be  desirous  to  hear  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel.  You  feel  as  if  you  could  not  hear 
it  too  often  or  too  much.  You  wonder  that  preaching 
should  never  before  have  seemed  so  interesting.  You  listen 
with  unstopped  ears ;  and  prayers,  hymns,  and  sermons,  fall 
upon  your  spirit  as  if  you  had  been  gifted  with  a  new  sense. 
It  is  well  that  it  is  so.  By  all  means  cherish  this  ardent 
interest  in  public  worship.  But  do  not  indulge  it  to  excess. 
Let  your  moderation  be  seen  in  giving  to  this  its  proper 
place  and  importance  in  your  time  and  regard.  It  is  not 
the  only  religious  enjoyment  or  means  of  improvement  in 
your  power ;  and  it  may  possibly  be  mere  self-indulgence 
which  carries  one  from  meeting  to  meeting.  Remember 
that  no  duty  towards  others  is  to  be  neglected  in  the  search 
for  j)ersonal  improvement  :  this  would  be  sin.  And  it  is  at 
times  a  higher  duty  to  attend  to  your  family,  to  be  with  your 
friends,  to  instruct  your  children,  to  consult  the  feelings 
and  yield  to  the  prejudices  of  a  husbund  or  wife,  a  parent, 


STATE    OF    MIND    NECESSARY    FOR    THE    INQUIRER.       313 

brother,  or  sister,  tliaii  it  is  to  pursue  your  own  single  ad- 
vantage, it  may  be  your  own  gratification,  by  going  out  to 
social  worship.  And  if  it  be  your  object  to  please  God  or 
discipline  your  own  spirit,  you  will  better  eflfect  that  object 
by  this  exercise  of  self-doiial,  than  by  doing  what  would 
give  uneasiness  to  others,  and  perhaps  even  alienate  them 
from  you,  and  render  them  hostile  to  religion  itself.  The 
advice  of  the  apostle  to  wives  is  in  force  on  this  point,  and 
is  equally  applicable  to  the  other  social  relations  :  "  Ye 
wives,  be  in  subjection  to  your  own  husbands ;  that  if  any 
obey  not  the  word,  they  may,  without  the  word,  be  won  by 
the  conversation  of  the  wives ;  while  they  behold  your 
chaste  conversation  coupled  with  fear." 

Be  warned,  therefore,  against  this  error.  And  what  are 
you  to  lose  by  the  course  which  I  recommend?  Believe 
nie,  however  much  may  be  gained  by  the  sympathy  and 
e.xcitement  of  a  public  assembly,  quite  as  much  is  gained 
by  the  sacrifice  of  your  inclinations  to  duty  and  to  the  feel- 
ings of  others,  and  by  the  silent,  unwitnessed  exercises  of 
retirement,  which  no  one  can  torbid  you.  Look  not  at  the 
present  moment,  but  at  the  end.  Your  desire  is  to  form  a 
genuine,  solid,  thorough,  permanent  character  of  devotion. 
Well ;  try  to  form  it  wholly  in  the  e.xcitement,  and  beneath 
the  external  inlluence,  of  public  meetings,  and  it  will  be 
such  a  character  as  can  exist  only  in  such  scenes.  Your 
])icty  will  always  need  the  presence  and  voice  of  men  to  keep 
it  alive,  and,  unstistained  by  them,  will  sink  away  and  die. 
This,  at  least,  is  the  danger  to  be  apprehended ;  and  experi- 
ence declares  that  it  is  no  slight  one.  But  form  your  char- 
acter in  private,  build  it  up  by  the  action  of  your  own  mind, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Bible,  and  by  intercourse  with 
the  Father  of  spirits,  —  and  then  it  will  always  be  independ- 
ent of  other  men  and  of  outward  circumstances.     It  will  be 


314  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMEMT. 

self-sustained  on  a  foundation  which  man  and  earth  cannot 
shake,  alike  powerful  in  the  solitude  and  in  the  crowd,  and 
immovable  in  steadfastness,  though  all  other  men  prove  false, 
and  faith  have  fled  all  other  bosoms.  It  is  such  a  piety  that 
belongs  to  the  Christian ;  it  is  such  that  you  are  to  seek  ; 
and  you  may  well  be  apprehensive  of  failure,  if  you  neglect 
this  salutary  caution. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE    MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

The  means  to  be  used  in  order  to  render  permanent  your 
religious  impressions,  and  promote  the  growth  of  your  char- 
acter, are  now  to  be  considered.  They  may  be  arranged 
under  the  following  heads:  —  Reading,  Meditation,  Prayer, 
Hearing  the  Word  preached,  and  the  Lord's  Supper. 

I.    Reading. 

I  begin  with  the  more  private  means ;  and  I  speak  of 
reading  first,  because  it  is  in  the  perusal  of  the  Scriptures  that 
the  beginning  of  religious  knowledge  is  to  be  found.  It  is 
they  which  testify  of  Christ,  and  have  the  words  of  eternal 
life.  It  is  they  which  make  wise  unto  salvation.  And  it  is 
through  a  devout  acquaintance  with  them,  that  the  mind  and 
heart  grow  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God,  and  that  the 
dispositions  are  formed  which  prepare  for  heaven.  Every 
one  may  read  the  Bible;  and,  such  is  its  plainness  and  sim- 
])licity  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  life  and  godliness,  that  if 
he  be  able  to  read  nothing  else,  he  may  yet  learn  all  that  is 


READING.  315 

essential  to  duty  and  acceptance.  Hence  it  has  happened, 
tliat  many,  to  whom  circumstances  have  interdicted  all  gen- 
oral  ac(iuaintance  with  books,  have  gathered,  from  their 
solitary  study  of  the  Bible  alone,  a  wisdom  which  has 
expanded  and  elevated  their  minds,  and  a  peace  which  has 
raised  them  above  the  darkness  and  trials  of  an  unhappy 
worldly  lot. 

There  are  those  whose  condition  in  life  is  such  that  they 
have  very  little  time  or  means  to  devote  to  books;  and  it 
were  vain  to  recommend  to  them  that  they  should  seek  in- 
struction beyond  the  sacred  pages,  and  the  simplest  ele- 
mentary works  of  devotion.  While,  therefore,  it  is  the 
undoubted  duty  of  every  one  to  make  the  utmost  possible 
]irogress  in  religious  knowledge,  no  one  is  to  be  condemned 
for  that  omission  of  study  and  ignorance  of  books  which 
are  rendered  unavoidable  by  circumstances.  We  must 
make  a  distinction,  it  has  been  truly  said,  between  that 
which  is  the  duty  of  all,  and  may  be  done  by  all,  —  that  is,  a 
careful  and  devout  perusal  of  the  Scriptures,  —  and  that 
which  is  the  duty,  because  within  the  ability,  only  of  a  more 
limited  number,  —  the  study  of  other  sources  of  knowledge 
and  virtue.  These  every  one  must  pursue  in  proportion  to 
his  leisure  and  means. 

The  class  of  those  who  have  the  leisure  and  means  is 
large  and  numerous  ;  it  is  to  be  wished  that  thoy  were  more 
alive  to  their  obligation  to  improve  themselves  accordinglv. 
I  know  not  how  it  happens  that  serious  and  devout  persons 
are  so  content  to  be  ignorant  on  those  great  topics  which 
they  truly  feel  to  transcend  all  others  in  importance.  It 
certainly  deserves  their  consideration,  whether  this  inditTer- 
cnce  be  either  creditable  or  right.  Capacity  and  opportu- 
nity form  the  measure  of  duty;  and  if  they  have  received 
the  power  and  means  of  cultivating  their  minds  and  adding 


316  BIEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    I3IPR0VEMENT. 

to  their  treasures  of  truth  and  thought,  they  should  regard 
it  as  an  intimation  that  this  is  required  of  them.  They 
should  not  esteem  it  enough  to  be  sincere  and  consci- 
entious ;  they  should  desire  to  be  well-informed :  well- 
informed  respecting  the  interpretation  of  the  more  difficult 
and  curious  portions  of  holy  writ,  respecting  the  history  and 
transmission  of  the  records  of  their  faith,  the  fortunes  of  the 
church  in  successive  ages,  the  effects  of  their  religion  and 
of  other  religions  on  the  world,  the  past  and  present  state 
of  religious  opinions,  the  past  and  present  operations  of 
Christian  benevolence,  the  means  of  doing  good,  and  the 
lives,  labors,  and  speculations  of  the  eminent  professors  of 
their  faith.  Now,  all  this  is  to  be  known  only  through 
books;  and  in  order  to  attain  it,  a  judicious  selection  of 
books,  and  an  appropriation  of  certain  seasons  for  reading, 
are  primarily  requisite.  The  bare  importance  and  interest 
of  these  subjects  ought  to  be  a  sufficient  inducement  to  the 
adoption  of  this  course. 

There  are  many  other  considerations  which  render  it 
wortliy  of  attention.  The  preaching  of  divine  truth  be- 
comes far  more  profitable  to  those  who  have  prepared  them- 
selves for  it  by  the  information  thus  acquired.  Words  are 
used  in  the  pulpit,  modes  of  speech  occur,  allusions  are 
made,  and  facts  and  reasonings  referred  to,  which  presup- 
pose an  acquaintance  with  certain  subjects,  and  which  are 
entirely  lost  to  those  who  never  read.  The  better  a  hearer 
is  furnished  with  preliminary  knowledge,  the  greater  pleas- 
ure will  he  derive  from  the  pulpit;  because  the  better  will 
he  understand  and  appreciate  the  sentiments  expressed.  At 
present,  such  is  the  uninformed  character  of  a  large  portion 
of  ordiliary  congregations,  that  a  minister  is  compelled  to 
pass  by  many  modes  of  illustration,  and  many  representa- 
tions of  truth  and  duty,  because  they  would  be,  to  a  great 


REAPING.  317 

majority  unintelligible,  and  therefore  unprofitable.  Instead 
of  going  on  to  perfection  in  the  proclamation  of  higher  and 
wider  views,  he  is  compelled,  as  the  apostle  complained  in  a 
similar  case,  to  contine  himself  "  to  the  first  principles  of 
the  oracles  of  God."  Some  teachers,  unwilling  or  unable 
thus  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  actual  stature  of  their 
hearers'  minds,  pursue  their  own  modes  of  thought  and 
expression,  without  regard  to  their  audience;  and,  while 
they  gratify  a  few  reading  and  thinking  men,  leave  the  mass 
of  the  people  uninstructed  and  unaffected.  Herein  is  a  sad 
error.  But  if  the  preacher  must  adapt  himself  to  the  hear- 
ers, the  hearers  ought  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  preach- 
ing. This  is  to  be  done  by  greater  familiarity  with  reli- 
gious books.  They  would  then  be  ready  for  higher  and 
more  extensive  themes,  and  for  a  wider  scope  of  illustra- 
tion, while  the  preacher  would  cease  to  feel  himself  fettered. 
At  I  resent,  warmed  and  filled,  as  his  mind  must  often  be, 
by  large  contemplation  and  exalted  study,  he  sometimes  un- 
consciously speaks  that  which  is  an  unknown  tongue  to  the 
unlettered  man,  though  delightful  and  wholesome  to  him 
whose  habits  of  reading  have  prepared  him  to  receive  it. 

Further  still.  It  might  do  for  mere  men  of  the  world, 
who  professedly  seek  only  worldly  good,  and  hold  of  little 
worth  the  goods  of  the  mind,  —  it  might  do  for  them  to  neg- 
lect books  and  thinking,  and  spend  all  their  precious  leisure 
in  idle  recreations.  They  are  living  for  the  body.  But  it 
is  the  distinction  of  the  Christian,  that  he  lives  for  the  soul, 
for  his  intellectual  and  moral  nature,  for  that  part  of  him 
which  is  noblest  now,  and  which  alone  shall  live  forever. 
He  has  passed  out  of  the  animal  into  the  spiritual  life.  It 
is  not  for  him  to  omit  or  neglect  any  suitable  means  of  in- 
tellectual or  moral  cultivation.  He  is  guilty  of  criminal 
inconsistency,  he  is  a  traitor  to  his  own  mind,  if  he  refuse 
27* 


318  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

to  nourish  it,  systematically,  with  knowledge  and  truth. 
To  keep  it  inactive  and  ignorant,  is  to  keep  it  degraded. 
Jesus  lived  and  died  for  it,  that  it  might  attain  the  truth, 
and  that  the  truth  might  make  \ifree.  But  what  is  the 
freedom  of  the  mind  bound  in  the  fetters  of  ignorance  ? 
Freedom  and  elevation  can  come  to  it  only  through  knowl- 
edge, and  one  chief  fountain  of  knowledge  is  books.  These 
inform  and  excite  it,  and  furnish  food  for  thought.  Thought 
is  exercise;  it  is  to  the  mind  what  motion  is  to  the  body. 
Without  it,  there  is  neither  health  nor  strength.  And  when 
God  has  graciously  ordered  that  your  lot  should  be  cast 
umid  the  abundance  of  books,  where  you  need  only  put 
forth  your  hand  and  be  supplied;  when  he  thus  makes  easy 
to  you  that  intellectual  and  moral  attainment  which  is  the 
soul's  dignity  and  happiness ;  I  see  not  how  you  can  answer 
it  to  your  conscience,  if  you  do  not  sacredly  devote  to  this 
object  a  certain  portion  of  your  leisure. 

In  regard  to  the  quantity  of  time  to  be  thus  employed,  no 
uniform  rule  can  be  given.  Men  vary  so  much  in  occupa- 
tion, opportunity,  and  leisure,  that,  while  one  may  easily 
command  hours,  another  can  with  difficulty  secure  minutes. 
On  this  point  every  one  must  be  left  to  the  decision  of  his 
own  conscience.  Inquire  of  that,  impartially  and  seriously, 
and  then  determine  how  large  a  portion  of  time  you  can 
daily  give  to  this  great  object.  I  believe  it  may  be  laid 
down  as  certain,  that  most  persons  may  afford  to  it  a  great 
deal  more  than  they  imagine.  Some  make  no  effort  to  do 
any  thing,  because  tliey  can  effect  so  little  that  they  account 
it  not  worth  the  effort.  But  they  should  remember  that 
duty  does  not  consist  in  doing  great  things,  but  in  doing 
what  we  can;  and  that,  if  they  would  redeem  from  the 
hurry  of  business  and  the  relaxation  of  slee[i  one  quarter  of 
an  hour  a  day,  it  would  be  a  more  praiseworthy  offering  than 


READING.  319 

the  many  hours  which  are  given  by  others.  Even  five 
minutes  a  day  would  be  worth  something,  would  be  invalu- 
able to  one  who  was  earnestly  bent  on  using  it.  It  would 
amount  in  a  year  to  about  thirty  hours ;  and  who  will  say 
that  it  is  not  better  to  improve  the  mind  for  thirty  hours 
than  not  at  all  ?  But  I  am  persuaded  that  there  is  scarcely 
any  one,  however  engrossed  in  necessary  cares,  who  may 
not  find  much  more  time  than  this — who  may  not  find  an 
hour  a  day.  By  greater  care  of  the  minutes  which  he 
wastes,  by  abridging  a  little  from  his  meals,  a  little  from  his 
pleasures,  and  a  little  from  his  sleep,  it  would  be  easily  ac- 
complished. If  one  be  in  earnest,  as  he  should  be,  if  he 
seek  for  wisdom  as  for  gold,  and  for  understanding  as  for 
hid  treasure,  it  will  be  no  impossible  thing  to  find  the  re- 
ipiisite  time.  Few  men  but  could  readily  gain  an  hour  a 
day,  if  they  were  to  gain  by  it  a  dollar  a  day.  Indeed,  it  is 
often  seen,  in  actual  life,  that  a  person  to  whom  religion 
has  become  an  object  of  deep  concern,  contrives  to  devote 
to  his  books  more  time  than  this,  though  before  he  would 
have  thought  it  impossible.  Nothing  is  wanting  but  the 
"  willing  mind."  If  one  feel  the  necessity,  every  thing  else 
will  give  way.  Rather  than  remain  ignorant  and  without 
progress  in  the  truth,  he  will  cheerfully  watch  an  hour  later 
at  night,  and  rise  an  hour  earlier  in  the  morning.  The  gain 
to  the  mind  will  more  than  balance  the  inconvenience  to 
the  body. 

You  may  regard  it,  then,  as  some  proof  of  the  sincerity 
and  earnestness  of  your  desire  for  improvement,  if  you  find 
yourself  able  to  appropriate  a  certain  portion  of  time  to 
profitable  reading.  It  is  important  that  you  select  for  this 
purpose  those  hours  which  shall  be  least  liable  to  interrup- 
tion, and    that  you   allow  nothing  to  infringe  upon  them. 


320  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

Keep  this  as  holy  time.     Be  punctual  and   faithful  to  it,  as 
the  banker  to  his  hours  of  business. 

There  are  seasons  in  every  one's  vocation,  at  which  his 
business  is  less  pressing  than  at  others  ;  and  there  are  also 
seasons  of  leisure,  which  he  feels  at  liberty  to  take  for  rec- 
reation and  amusement.  As  you  will  have  lost  all  taste  for 
frivolous  amusement  and  unprofitable  pleasures,  you  will  be 
able  to  devote  all  such  seasons  to  the  improvement  of  your 
mind  ;  and,  instead  of  the  theatre  and  the  ball-room,  from 
which  you  would  have  returned  fatigued  in  body  and  dis- 
tracted in  mind,  and  to  some  extent  unfitted  for  duty,  you 
will  enjoy  the  converse  of  the  great  minds  which  have 
blessed  the  world,  and,  after  filling  your  soul  with  their 
thoughts,  will  go  back  to  your  ordinary  duty  with  a  spirit 
refreshed  and  invigorated,  and  a  body  unwearied.  During 
the  season  of  long  evenings,  especially  when  so  many  are 
hurryino-  from  diversion  to  diversion,  as  if  this  long  leisure 
were  provided  them  only  that  they  may  contrive  how  in- 
geniously they  can  throw  it  away,  —  you  will  perceive  that 
you  have  a  most  favorable  opportunity  for  pursuing  exten- 
sive researches,  and  making  large  acquisitions  of  knowl- 
edge. Evening  after  evening,  in  your  own  quiet  retirement, 
you  will  sit  down  to  this  instructive  application.  By  this 
diligence  wliat  progress  may  you  make !  what  volumes  may 
you  master !  to  what  extent  may  you  penetrate  the  secrets 
of  science,  acquire  a  knowledge  of  history  and  of  letters, 
and  become  enriched  with  those  great  and  various  treasures 
of  intellect,  which  are  subservient  to  the  growth  of  the 
mind  and  the  glory  of  God  !  You  will  thus  be  using  time 
for  the  jHirpose  for  which  it  was  given, — the  ripening  and 
perfecting  (;f  your  immortal  mind;  and  at  all  intervals  of 
release  from  duty  to  others,  will  make  it  your  happiness  to 
be  thus  performing  a  great  duty  to  yourself 


READING.  321 

In  your  selection  of  books,  the  Bible  will,  of  course,  hold 
the  first  j)i:ice.  This  is  to  be  read  daily,  and  to  be  your  fa- 
vorite book.  Remember,  however,  that  it  may  be  perused 
in  such  a  manner  that  it  were  better  never  to  liave  opened 
it.  If  studied  inattentively,  for  form's  sake,  or  only  for  the 
purpose  of  gathering  arguments  to  support  your  opinions,  it 
is  read  irreligiously,  and  therefore  unprofitably.  You  must 
habitually  regard  it  as  uttering  instructions  with  a  voice  of 
authority,  of  which  you  are  earnestly  to  seek  the  true  mean- 
ing, and  then  submissively  to  obey  them.  You  must  never 
forget  that  your  hopes  of  right  instruction  are  suspended  on 
the  simplicity  and  fidelity  with  which  you  receive  those 
holy  words ;  and  as  they  were  written  expressly  to  make 
you  wise  unto  salvation,  no  inferior  purpose  must  distract 
your  attention  from  this. 

You  will,  therefore,  always  have  in  view  two  objects  —  to 
understand  the  book,  and  to  apply  it  to  your  own  heart  and 
character. 

The  study  of  the  Bible,  for  the  purpose  of  understanding 
it,  is  an  arduous  labor.  Dr.  Johnson  said  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, "  It  is  the  most  difiicult  book  in  the  world,  for  which 
the  'abor  of  a  life  is  required."  No  book  requires  greater 
and  more  various  aid.  Its  thorough  interpretation  is  a 
science  by  itself;  and  you  must  ask  of  those,  in  whose 
judgment  you  confide,  to  point  out  the  requisite  helps  for 
this  interesting  investigation ;  to  enable  you  to  reach  the 
pure  text,  and  arrive  at  the  meaning  of  every  passage  as  it 
lay  in  the  mind  of  the  writer.  Recollect  that  a  passage 
standing  by  itself  may  bear  a  very  good  meaning,  which  yet 
was  not  the  meaning  designed;  and  make  it  a  sacred  rule, 
not  to  receive  or  quote  it  in  any  other  sense  than  that  which 
belongs  to  it  in  its  original  place.  The  neglect  of  this  rule 
has  occasioned  much  misinterpretation  and  misapplication 


322  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT, 

of  Scripture;  and  some  passages  have  come  to  be  familiarly 
understood  and  cited  in  senses  altogether  foreign  from  their 
proper  import.  This  is  a  perversion  ;  and  it  is  an  immense 
evil  to  have  wrong  ideas  thus  fastened  upon  the  language 
of  the  sacred  writers. 

And  be  not  afraid  of  examining  the  text  scrupulously, 
and  employing  the  utmost  energy  of  your  mind  in  discover- 
ing and  determining  its  true  sense.  It  is  a  duty  to  do  this. 
You  can  decide  between  opposing  and  possible  interpreta- 
tions only  by  applying  your  own  mind  to  judge  between 
them ;  and  the  more  keenly,  impartially,  and  fearlessly,  you 
proceed,  the  greater  the  probability  that  your  decision  will 
be  correct.  On  this  point  some  persons  greatly  err.  They 
seize  on  the  first  meaning  which  presents  itself  to  their 
minds,  or  has  been  presented  by  another,  and  resolutely 
abide  by  it ;  they  refuse  to  investigate  further,  lest  they 
should  be  guilty  of  irreverently  trying  the  divine  word  by 
their  own  fallible  reason.  Indulge  no  such  weakness  as 
this.  Never,  indeed,  be  guilty  for  a  moment  of  the  insane 
folly  and  sin  of  disputing  the  a#ithority  of  revelation,  or  set- 
ting up  your  reason  as  a  superior  light  and  safer  guide. 
But  in  deciding  upon  the  meaning  of  Scripture,  you  cannot 
use  your  intellectual  powers  too  much  or  too  acutely.  Use 
them  constantly,  coolly,  impartially,  with  the  best  aid  you 
can  obtain  from  human  authors,  and  then  you  may  rest  sat- 
isfied that  you  have  done  your  duty,  —  have  done  all  which 
you  could  do  toward  learning  the  truth ;  and  if  you  have 
accompanied  it  with  prayer  for  a  blessing  from  the  Source 
of  truth  and  wisdom,  you  cannot  have  failed,  in  any  essential 
point,  to  ascertain  the  will  of  God. 

But  there  is  another  object, —  the  application  of  Scrip- 
ture to  the  forming  of  the  heart  and  character.  This  is  a 
higher  object  than  the  other,  and  may  be  effected  in  cases. 


READING.  323 

where  very  little  of  rigid  scrutiny  can  be  made  into  the 
dark  places  of  the  divine  word.  Blessed  be  God,  it  is  not 
necessary,  in  order  to  salvation,  that  one  should  comprehend 
all  the  things  liard  to  be  understood,  or  be  able  to  follow 
out  the  train  of  reasoning  in  every  epistle,  and  restore  the 
text  in  every  corruption.  Do  all  this  as  much  as  you  can. 
But  when  you  reujcl,  as  it  were  for  your  life  ;  when  you  take 
the  Bible  to  your  closet,  to  be  the  help  and  the  solitary  wit- 
ness of  your  prayers ;  when  you  take  it  up  as  a  lamp  which 
you  are  to  hold  to  your  heart,  for  the  purpose  of  searching 
into  its  true  state,  that  you  may  ])urify  and  perfect  it;  —  then 
put  from  your  mind  all  thoughts  of  differing  interpretations 
and  various  readings,  and  the  perplexities  of  criticism  and 
translation.  You  have  only  to  do  with  what  is  spiritual  and 
practical.  You  are  no  more  a  scholar,  seeking  for  intellect- 
ual guid;ujce,  but  a  sinful  and  accountable  creature,  asking 
for  help  in  duty,  and  deliverance'  from  an  evil  world  and 
an  evil  heart.  Read,  tlierefore,  as  if  on  your  knees. 
Make  your  heart  feel  and  respond  to  every  sentiment. 
Apply  to  yourself  with  rigor  every  precept  and  warning ; 
and  according  to  the  character  of  the  passage,  let  your  mind 
glow  with  fervor,  and  be  uplifted  in  holy  adoration  and 
devout  gratitude,  or  be  thrilled  and  humbled  by  the  repre- 
sentations of  infinite  purity  and  justice,  or  melted  and  borne 
away  by  the  tones  of  tender  love  and  long-sullcring  grace. 
Suffer  yourself  to  read  nothing  coldly,  when  you  read  for 
spiritual  improvement.  You  might  as  lawfully  pray  coldly. 
Therefore  let  your  reading  be  like  your  prayers,  —  done 
with  all  your  heart.  And  be  sensible  that  it  is  better  to  go 
over  one  short  passage  many  times,  till  you  fully  grasp  its 
sentiment,  and  grow  warm  with  it,  than  to  run  over  hastily 
and  unfeelingly  many  chapters. 

You   are  not   to  suppose,  fr<im   wlirU  has  been  said,  that 


324  MKAxXS    OF    KELIGIOUS    IxMPKOVEMENT, 

you  are  altogether  to  separate  these  two  modes  of  reading 
the  Scriptures.  On  tlie  contrary,  it  will  greatly  aid  you  in 
unravelling  their  true  meaning,  to  carry  to  their  interpreta- 
tion a  devout  mind,  wakeful  to  the  impression  of  their  moral 
beauty,  and  in  sympathy  with  their  divine  origin  ;  since 
nothing  is  truer  than  this,  —  that  a  study  is  rendered  easy 
by  the  interest  of  the  affections  in  it,  and  that  difficulties 
disappear  before  the  excitement  of  feeling.  And,  on  the 
other  hand,  when  you  are  readii»g  expressly  for  improve- 
ment and  devotion,  you  will  recur,  without  effort,  and  con- 
sequently without  interruption,  to  the  results  of  your  cooler 
inquiry,  and  spontaneously  make  use  of  the  interpretations 
which  your  critical  scrutiny  has  proved  to  be  just. 

The  cautions  thus  briefly  sketched  are  important  for  two 
reasons  ;  one,  that  there  is  a  tendency  in  him  who  has  be- 
come interested  in  the  critical  examination  of  the  sacred 
writings,  to  continue  to  read  them  critically  and  with  a 
principal  regard  to  their  elucidation,  when  he  ought  to  be 
imbibing  their  spirit ;  and  the  other,  that  the  perception  of 
this  tendency  has  been  an  apology  to  many  for  not  enga- 
ging in  such  inquiries  at  all.  They  esteem  it  better  to  go  on 
with  their  crude,  unconnected,  and  undigested  knowledge, 
which  in  many  cases  is  only  ignorance,  (for  where  they  have 
not  inquired,  it  is  impossible  they  should  know,)  than  to 
check  the  fervor  of  their  religious  feelings,  as  they  fancy 
must  inevitably  be  done,  by  accurate  study.  But  this  is  a 
melancholy  error.  It  reminds  one  of  the  old  pretence  that 
ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion.  How  can  it  be  ration- 
ally supposed  that  a  careful  inquiry  concerning  the  history, 
the  text,  and  the  signification  of  the  Bible,  should  neces- 
sarily alienate  the  mind  from  the  true  spirit  of  the  Bible! 
I  say  necessarily,  because  the  tendency  alluded  to  undoubt- 
edly exists ;  and,  however  it  may  be  accounted  for,  it  evi- 


nEADING.  325 

dently  needs  to  be  cautiously  guarded  against.  This  may 
be  done.  Do  it,  then,  as  you  value  the  warmth  and  fervor 
of  your  soul.  Do  it,  always  and  perseveringly,  by  daily 
reading  in  that  frame  of  spiritual  self-application  which  I 
have  recommended.  Thus  you  will  avoid  the  danger  ;  and 
while  you  arrive  at  enlarged  views  of  the  nature,  contents, 
history,  and  purposes  of  these  sacred  records,  you  will  retain 
and  increase  the  susceptibility  of  your  heart  to  all  their 
representations  of  duty  and  heaven. 

In  regard  to  the  choice  of  other  books,  it  would  take  up 
too  much  room  to  enter  into  all  the  many  considerations 
which  might  be  started.  Let  it  be  sufficient  to  say  in  gen- 
eral, that,  if  you  would  form  a  religious  character,  you  are 
always  to  have  in  view  the  two  objects  already  named, — 
religious  knowledge  and  moral  improvement.  Your  books, 
therefore,  will  belong  to  one  or  the  other  of  these  two  de- 
partments ;  and  it  would  be  well  to  have  one  of  each  kind 
always  lying  by  you  in  the  course  of  being  read.  That 
is,  be  at  nil  times  engaged  with  two  books;  one  of  a  moral 
and  devotional  character,  to  keep  your  frame  of  mind  right, 
and  your  feelings  in  harmony  with  eternal  truth ;  the  other, 
of  an  instructive  character,  to  enlarge  your  knowledge,  and 
extend  your  ideas  concerning  God,  and  man,  and  truth. 
Then  you  will  never  be  at  a  loss  for  occupation.  You  will 
not  fritter  away  precious  hours  in  "  wondering  what  you  had 
better  do." 

To  the  better  accomplishment  of  this  purpose,  it  will  be 
well  to  obtain  of  your  minister,  or  some  competent  friend,  a 
list  of  selected  books,  in  the  order  in  which  they  should  be 
read.  I  earnestly  recommend  this.  Many  persons  read  at 
random,  without  selection,  whatever  they  may  accidentally 
meet  with.  They  make  no  inquiry  whether  a  book  be  good 
or  bad,  worth  perusal  or  not  ;  Imf  because  it  lies  in  their 
•28 


326  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMFEOVEMENT. 

way,  or  has  been  read  by  some  friend,  they  read  it.  How 
many  miserable  volumes  of  trash  are  thus  devoured !  and 
that,  too,  by  persons  who  would  be  alarmed  at  the  suspicion 
that  they  are  prodigally  throwing  away  their  time.  But  they 
do  not  pursue  the  same  random  course  in  other  matters. 
They  do  not  choose  their  food  or  clothing  of  the  first  thing 
which  accidentally  presents  itself  They  take  pains,  they 
spend  time,  they  inquire,  compare,  judge,  and  select  only 
what  they  deliberately  perceive  to  be  best.  And  when  we 
treat  the  body  thus,  shall  we  have  no  care  for  the  mind  ? 
Shall  we  leave  it  to  be  fed  by  any  food  which  chance  may 
bring  it,  and  thus  expose  it  to  the  risk  of  pernicious  nour- 
ishment, to  the  hazard  of  being  made  feeble,  sickly,  and 
corrupt?  I  adjure  you,  fall  not  into  this  too  common 
thoughtlessness.  Do  not  take  it  for  granted,  that,  because 
it  is  a  printed  book,  therefore  it  must  be  worth  reading. 
Get  advice  upon  the  subject,  and  read  systematically ;  re- 
flecting, that  your  object  is  not  amusement,  but  improve- 
ment, —  improvement  of  your  religious  nature ;  and  that 
you  have  no  more  right  to  run  the  hazard  of  poisoning  it 
through  a  negligent  selection  of  its  nutriment,  than  to  de- 
stroy your  body  by  similar  means.  The  religious  culture 
of  your  mind  is  a  most  responsible  charge  ;  it  is  to  be  ef- 
fected, in  no  small  degree,  by  the  exercise  and  guidance  it 
shall  receive  from  books ;  and  how  will  you  lift  up  your 
head,  when  the  Judge  shall  inquire  concerning  your  manner 
of  preparing  it  for  his  kingdom,  if  you  have  provided  for 
its  immortal  appetite  nothing  but  unarranged  and  unselect- 
ed  trash,  when  stores  of  the  choicest  kind  were  profusely 
spread  before  you  1 

It  does  not  fall  within  my  plan  to  pursue  this  subject  fur- 
ther, or  to  treat  the  many  questions  which  may  arise  on  the 
choice  of  books,  and  habits  of  reading,  in  general.     It  may 


MEDITATION.  327 

be  said,  in  few  words,  that  no  work  of  truth  and  science,  or 
of  elegance  and  taste,  which  does  not  tend  to  corrupt  the 
morals  or  create  a  disrelish  for  serious  thought,  need  be  pro- 
hibited to  a  religious  man.  Within  the  limits  of  this  re- 
strictit)n  he  may  freely  range.  Let  him  only  remember 
that  even  the  employment  of  reading  may  become  mere 
idleness  and  wastefulness ;  and  that  a  man  may  decide  re- 
specting his  actual  principles  and  character  by  the  charac- 
ter of  the  books  to  which  he  is  most  attached,  lie  must, 
therefore,  watch  and  guard  his  taste.  Then  he  may  find  it 
in  his  power  to  cause  every  hour  thus  spent  to  minister  to 
the  growth  of  his  best  attainments. 

II.    Meditation. 

This  is  a  great  and  essential  means  of  improvement.  It 
IS  essential  to  self-examination  and  self-knowledge,  without 
which  the  hope  of  progress  and  of  virtue  is  vain.  No  one 
can  know  his  own  character,  or  be  aware  of  the  disposi- 
tions, feelings,  and  motives  by  which  he  is  actuated,  except 
by  means  of  deep  and  searching  reflection.  In  the  crowd 
of  business  and  the  hurry  of  the  world,  we  are  apt  to  rush 
on  without  weighing,  as  we  should,  the  considerations  which 
urge  us ;  we  are  liable  to  neglect  that  close  inspection  of 
ourselves,  and  that  careful  reference  of  our  conduct  to  the 
unerring  standard  of  right,  which  are  requisite  both  to  our 
knowing  where  we  are,  and  to  our  keeping  in  the  right  way. 
It  is  necessary  that  we  sometimes  pause,  and  look  around  us, 
and  consider  our  ways ;  that  we  take  observation  of  the 
course  we  are  running,  and  the  various  influences  to  which 
we  are  subjected,  and  be  sure  that  we  are  not  driven  or 
drifted  from  the  direction  in  which  we  ought  to  be  proceed- 
ing.    Without  this  there  is  no  safety. 

Meditation,  too,  is  necessary  in  order  to  the  digesting  of 
religious  truth,  making  familiar  what  we  have  learned,  and 


328  WEAXS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPKOYE.'«E>'T. 

incorporating  it  with  our  own  minds.  We  cannot  even 
retain  it  in  our  memories,  much  less  can  we  be  fully  sensible 
of  its  power  and  worth,  except  through  the  habit  of  reflect- 
ing upon  it.  We  cannot  have  it  ready  at  connnand,  so  as  to 
defend  it  when  assailed,  or  state  it  when  inquired  after,  or 
apply  it  in  the  emergencies  of  life,  unless  it  be  familiar  to 
us  by  habitual  meditation ;  so  that  even  reading  loses  its 
value  if  unaccompanied  by  reflection.  The  obligations  and 
motives  of  duty,  the  promises,  hopes,  and  prospects  of  the 
Christian,  the  great  interests  and  permanent  realities  by 
which  he  is  to  be  actuated,  are  not  visibly  and  tangibly 
present  to  him,  like  the  scenes  of  his  passing  life ;  and  they 
must  be  made  spiritually  present  by  deliberate  meditation, 
if  he  would  be  guided  and  swayed  by  them.  Indeed,  with- 
out this,  he  must  be  without  consideration  or  devotion,  igno- 
rant of  the  actual  state  of  his  character,  and  in  constant 
danger  of  falling  a  sacrifice  to  the  unfriendly  influences  of 
the  world. 

In  attempting,  therefore,  the  acquisition  of  a  religious 
character,  it  is  important  that  you  maintain  an  habitual 
thoughtfulness  of  mind.  It  has  been  said,  and  with  perfect 
truth,  that  no  man  pursues  any  great  interest  of  any  kind,  in 
which  important  consequences  are  at  stake,  without  a  pro- 
found and  settled  seriousness  of  mind  ;  and  that  a  man  of 
really  frivolous  disposition  never  accomplishes  any  thing  val- 
uable. How  especially  true  must  this  be,  in  regard  to  the 
great  interests  of  religion  and  eternity  !  How  can  you  hope 
to  make  progress  in  that  perplexing  and  difficult  work,  the 
establishment  of  a  religious  character,  the  attainment  of  the 
great  Christian  accomplishments,  without  a  fi.xed  and  habit- 
ual thoughtfulness  ?  —  a  thoughtfulness  which  never  forgets 
the  vastness  and  responsibility  of  the  work  assigned  to  man, 
nor  loses  the  consciousness  of  a  relation  to  more  glorious 


MEDITATION'.  329 

beings  than  are  found  upon  the  earth.  This  must  be  your 
habit  —  something  more  than  an  occasional  musing  and 
reverie,  at  set  times,  when  you  shall  force  yourself  to  the 
task.  It  must  be  the  uniform  condition  of  your  mind ;  as 
much  so  as  solicitude  to  the  merchant,  who  has  great  treas- 
ures exposed  to  "the  uncertainties  of  the  ocean  and  the  foe  ; 
a  solicitude,  in  your  case,  not  gloomy,  or  unsocial,  or  mo- 
rose, but  thoughtful  ;  so  that  nothing  shall  be  done  incon- 
siderately, or  without  adverting  to  the  bearing  it  may  have 
on  your  character  and  final  prospects. 

Then,  besides  this  general  state  of  mind,  there  must  be, 
as  I  have  said,  allotted  periods  of  express  meditation.  As  the 
precept  respecting  devotion  is,  "  Pray  without  ceasing,"  and 
yet  set  times  of  prayer  are  necessary,  so,  also,  while  we  say, 
*•  Be  always  thoughtful,"  we  must  add,  that  particular  sea- 
sons are  necessary  on  purpose  for  meditation.  You  must 
set  apart  certain  times  for  reflection,  when  you  shall  delib- 
erately sit  down  and  survey  with  keen  scrutiny  yourself, 
your  condition,  your  past  life,  and  the  prospect  before  you ; 
inquire  into  the  state  of  your  religious  knowledge  and  per- 
sonal attainments ;  and  strengthen  your  sense  of  responsi- 
bility and  purposes  of  duty,  by  dwelling  on  the  attributes 
and  government  of  God,  the  ways  of  his  providence,  the 
revelations  of  his  Word,  the  requisitions  of  his  will,  the 
glory  of  his  kingdom,  and  all  the  alfecting  truths  and  prom- 
ises which  the  gospel  displays.  These  are  to  be  subjects  of 
distinct  and  profound  consideration,  till  your  mind  becom.es 
imbued  with  tliem,  and  until,  filled  and  inspired  by  the  spirit- 
ual contemplation,  you  are  in  a  manner  "  changed  into  the 
same  image  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord."  The  proper  sea- 
son for  this  is  the  season  of  your  daily  devotion  ;  when,  hav- 
ing shutout  the  world,  and  sought  the  nearer  presence  of 
God,  your  mind  is  prepared  to  work  fervently.     Then,  con- 


330  MEANS    OF    KELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

templation,  aided  by  prayer,  ascends  to  heights  which  il 
could  never  reach  alone ;  and  sometimes,  whether  in  the 
body  or  out  of  the  body  it  can  hardly  tell,  soars,  as  it  were, 
to  the  third  heaven,  and  enjoys  a  revelation  to  which,  at 
other  hours,  it  is  a  stranger. 

This,  however,  is  an  excitement  of  mind -which  is  rarely 
to  be  expected.  Those  seasons  are  "  few  as  angels'  visits," 
which  lift  the  spirit  to  any  thing  like  ecstasy.  They  are 
glimpses  of  heaven,  which  the  soul,  in  its  present  taber- 
nacle, can  seldom  catch,  only  frequently  enough  to  afford  a 
brief  foretaste  of  that  bliss  to  which  it  shall  hereafter  arrive. 
Its  ordinary  musings  are  less  ethereal ;  happy,  undoubtedly, 
though  oftentimes  clouded  by  feelings  of  sadness  and  doubt, 
and  by  a  sense  of  unworthiness  and  sin.  But,  however 
mixed  they  may  be,  they  are  always  salutary.  If  sad  and 
disheartening,  they  lead  to  more  vigilant  self-examination, 
that  we  may  discover  their  cause,  and  thus  rekindle  the 
watchlight  that  is  so  essential  to  right  progress.  If  serene 
and  joyous,  they  are  a  present  earnest  of  the  peace  which  is 
assured  to  the  righteous,  and  the  joy  of  heart  which  is  one 
of  the  genuine  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  Be  not,  therefore, 
troubled  or  cast  down,  (indeed,  never  be  cast  down,  so  long  as 
you  can  say  to  your  soul.  Trust  in  God  ;)  be  not,  I  say,  dis- 
quieted or  cast  down,  because  of  the  inequalities  of  feeling 
with  which  you  enter  and  leave  your  closet,  and  the  changes 
from  brightness  to  gloom,  from  clearness  to  obscurity,  which 
often  pass  over  your  mind.  This,  alas !  is  the  inheritance 
of  our  frail  nature.  An  equal  vigor  of  thought,  clearness 
of  apprehension,  force  of  imagination,  fervor  of  devotion, 
always  perceiving,  feeling,  adoring,  with  the  same  vividness 
and  satisfaction,  are  to  be  our  portion  in  the  world  of  spirits. 
Here  we  see  idl  things,  "  as  in  a  glass,  darkly;  "  there  we 
shall  see  "  face  to  face."     Here  the  truths  we  rejoice  in  are 


MEDITATION.  331 

too  often  like  tiie  images  of  absent  friends,  which  we  strive 
in  vain  to  bring  brightly  before  the  eye  of  our  minds  ;  they 
are  shadowy,  indistinct,  and  fleeting.  Cut  there  they  will 
be  like  our  friends  themselves,  always  present  in  their  own 
full  form  and  beauty,  to  dwell  in  the  mind  unfadingly,  and 
constitute  its  bliss.  Be  satisfied,  tlien,  if  you  sometimes 
arrive,  in  your  meditations,  at  that  glow  of  elevated  enjoy- 
ment which  you  desire.  What  you  are  rather  to  seek  for, 
is,  a  calm  and  composed  state  of  the  affections,  an  equanim- 
ity of  spirit,  a  serenity  of  temper — like  the  quiet  which 
an  affectionate  child  experiences  in  the  circle  of  its  parents 
and  brothers,  where  it  is  not  excited  to  ecstasy  by  the 
thought  of  its  father's  goodness,  but  lives  beneath  it  in  a 
state  of  equal  and  affectionate  trust.  Like  this  should  be 
the  habitual  experience  of  the  Christian ;  and  if  it  be  thus 
with  you,  let  not  occasional  dulness  or  darkness,  coming 
over  your  spirit  in  its  religious  hours,  dishearten  or  dis- 
tress you. 

This  I  say,  because  many  persons  of  truly  devout  habits 
have  unquestionably  suffered  much  from  this  cause.  In  the 
natural  fluctuations  of  the  animal  spirits,  or  the  nervous 
system,  or  the  bodily  health,  they  sometimes  find  themselves 
cold  at  heart,  and  seemingly  insensible  to  religious  consid- 
erations. It  seems  to  them  that  their  hearts  have  waxed 
gross,  that  their  eyes  are  closed,  and  their  ears  become  dull 
of  hearing.  In  vain  do  they  read  and  think  ;  they  cannot 
arouse  themselves  to  any  thing  like  a  "  realizing  sense  "  of 
these  great  objects ;  but  regard  with  a  stupid  unconcern 
what  at  other  times  has  been  the  source  of  their  chief  en- 
joyment. But  let  the  humble  and  timid  believer  be  of  good 
cheer.  This  is  not  always  a  sign  of  guilt,  or  of  desertion 
by  God.  It  may  be  traced  to  the  original  and  unavoidable 
imperfection  of  hunian  nature;  it  is  to  be  lamented  as  such, 


332  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

but  not  to  be  repented  of  as  sin ;  and  one  may  not  expect 
to  be  relieved  from  it,  till  the  soul  is  freed  from  the  body. 
Let  him  watch  the  course  of  his  mind,  and  he  will  find  the 
same  inequality  of  feeling  to  exist  upon  other  subjects.  lie 
does  not  at  all  times  take  an  equal  interest  in  his  ordinary 
concerns,  nor  does  he  at  all  times  feel  the  highest  warmth 
of  affection  toward  his  parent,  friend,  or  child.  Let  him 
observe  others,  and  he  will  discover  the  same  variations  in 
them.  They  will  confess  it  to  be  so.  The  oldest  and  most 
established  Christians  will  describe  themselves  to  have 
passed  their  whole  pilgrimage  in  this  state  of  fluctuation. 
Read  the  private  journals  of  distinguished  believers,  and 
you  find  in  them  frequent  complaints  of  lukewarmness, 
indifference,  and  deadness  of  heart.  They  mourn  over  it, 
they  bewail  it,  they  strive  against  it,  and  yet  it  adheres  to 
them  as  long  as  they  live.  It  is  not,  therefore,  your  peculiar 
sin,  but  a  common  infirmity.  Regard  it  in  this  light;  and 
do  not  let  it  destroy  your  peace  of  mind,  or  lead  you  to 
overlook  the  rational  evidence  that  your  heart  is  right 
with  God. 

But,  also,  on  the  other  hand,  —  for  the  Christian's  path  is 
hedged  in  with  dangers  on  every  side,  and  in  trying  to  es- 
cape from  one  it  is  easy  to  rush  into  another,  —  take  heed 
that  you  do  not  unwarrantably  apply  this  consolation,  and 
make  this  excuse  to  yourself  in  cases  in  which  you  really 
deserve  blame.  Do  not  let  this  apology,  which  is  designed 
only  for  the  comfort  of  the  humble  and  watchful,  bo  used 
by  you  as  a  cover  for  negligence  and  sinful  self-confidence. 
Remember  that  your  unsatisfactory  state  of  religious  sensi- 
bility may  be  possibly  your  fault;  and  you  are  not  to  pre- 
sume that  it  is  otlierwisc,  until  you  have  faithfully  soarchcd 
and  tried.  Have  you  not,  for  a  time,  been  unreasonably  de- 
voted to  amusement,  or -engrossed  by  unnecessary  cares,  so 


MEDITATION.  333 

as  to  have  neglected  the  watching  of  your  heart  ?  Have 
you  not  for  a  season  been  thoiii^htless,  light-iiiiiuled,  frivo- 
lous, and  careless  of  that  devout  reference  to  God,  by  which 
you  should  always  be  actuated?  Have  you  not  engaged  in 
some  questionable  undertaking,  or  allowed  yourself  in  sloth 
or  self-indulgence,  or  cherished  ill  feelings  toward  others, 
or  permitted  your  temper  to  be  kept  irritated  by  some  unim- 
portant vexations,  or  let  your  imagination  run  loose  among 
forbidden  desires?  Ask  yourself  such  questions;  and  per- 
haps in  the  nature  of  your  recent  occupations  you  may 
detect  the  cause  of  your  present  listlessncss.  If  so,  change 
the  general  turn  of  your  life.  In  the  words  of  Cowper's 
hymn,  it  is  only  *'  a  closer  walk  with  God,"  which  can  bring 
back  "  the  blessedness  you  once  enjoyed."  Now,  your  heart 
is  desolate  and  unsatisfied  ;  you  find  in  it  "  an  aching  void, 
which  God  alone  can  fill  ;  "  and  it  is  only  by  renewing  your 
acquaintance  with  him,  that  you  can  renew  your  peace. 

But,  after  all,  remember  that  you  are  to  judge  of  the  real 
worth  of  these  seasons,  not  by  your  enjoyment  of  them  as 
they  pass,  not  by  the  luxury  or  rapture  of  your  contempla- 
tion, but  by  their  effect  upon  your  character  and  principles, 
by  the  religious  power  you  gain  from  them  toward  meeting 
the  duties  and  sufferings,  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the  tempta- 
tions, trials,  and  conflicts  of  actual  life.  Meditation  is  a 
means  of  religion;  not  to  be  rested  in  as  a  final  good,  nor 
allowed  to  satisfy  us,  except  so  far  as  it  imparts  to  the  char- 
acter a  permanent  impress  of  seriousness  and  dutv,  and 
strengthens  the  principles  of  faith  and  self-government.  If 
it  add  daily  vigor  to  your  resolutions,  and  secure  order  to 
your  thoughts,  seretjity  to  your  temper,  and  uprightness  to 
your  life,  then  it  has  fidfilled  its  legitimate  purpose.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  end  in  the  reverie  of  the  hour,  then,  how- 
ever   fervent    and    exalted,    it    is,    comparatively    speaking, 


334  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT, 

worthless  to  yourself  and  unacceptable  to  God.  Its  perma- 
nent influence  on  the  character  is  the  true  test  of  its  value. 

It  is  easy  to  see,  therefore,  that  there  are  three  purposes 
which  you  have  in  view  —  the  cultivation  of  a  religious  spirit, 
the  scrutiny  of  your  life  and  character,  the  renewing  of  your 
good  purposes. 

By  the  first  of  these,  you  are  to  insure  the  predominance 
of  a  spiritual  frame  of  mind,  a  perpetual,  paramount  inter- 
est in  divine  truth,  and  its  incorporation  with  the  frame  and 
constitution  of  your  soul ;  so  that  you  shall  be  continually 
enlarging  your  apprehensions  concerning  God,  his  provi-' 
dence,  and  his  purposes,  and  shall  at  the  same  time  make 
them  part  of  the  very  substance  of  your  intellectual  consti- 
tution, the  pervading  and  actuating  motives  of  all  your  life. 

By  this  means  religion  becomes  to  the  Christian  what  the 
spirit  of  his  profession  is  to  the  soldier,  —  the  one  present 
thought,  motive,  and  impulse,  absorbing  all  others,  and  ur- 
ging him  to  his  one  great  object  by  its  mastery  over  all  other 
thoughts,  principles,  and  affections.  The  other  two  pur- 
poses of  meditation  which  I  mentioned  may  be  described  as 
the  surveying  and  burnishing  of  the  warrior's  arms,  in  prep- 
aration for  the  summons  to  actual  combat ;  or  as  the  act  of 
the  mariner  in  mid  ocean,  who  every  day  lifts  his  instruments 
to  the  light  of  heaven,  and  consults  his  charts  and  his  books, 
that  he  may  learn  where  he  is,  and  what  has  been  his  prog- 
ress, and  whether  any  change  must  be  made  in  his  course  in 
order  to  his  reaching  the  intended  haven.  The  warrior  who 
should  allow  his  arms  to  rust  for  want  of  a  little  daily  care, 
and  the  mariner  who  should  be  shipwrecked  from  neglect 
of  taking  seasonable  observations,  are  emblems  of  the  folly 
of  the  man  who  presses  on  through  life,  without  ever  paus- 
ing to  scrutinize  the  principles  on  which  he  acts,  and  rectify 
the  errors  he  has  committed. 


MEDITATION.  335 

This  self  examination  must  be  universal ;  embracing  alike 
the  conduct  of  your  external  life  and  tlie  habitual  tenor  of 
your  mind.  You  must  surve)^  the  train  of  your  thoughts, 
the  temper  you  have  sustained,  your  deportment  toward 
others,  your  conversation,  your  employment,  the  use  of  your 
time  and  of  your  wealth  ;  you  must  consider  by  what  sort 
of  motives  you  are  prevailingly  guided,  what  is  the  probable 
effect  of  your  example,  and  wliether  you  are  doing  all  the 
good  which  might  be  reasonably  expected  of  you ;  you  must 
compare  yourself  with  the  example  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
measure  your  life  by  the  laws  of  holy  living  prescribed  in 
his  gospel.  And  in  order  that  these  and  other  topics  may 
all  have  their  place  in  the  survey,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
keep  them  by  you  on  a  written  list.  Cotton  Mather  adopt- 
ed and  recommended  the  practice  of  assigning  to  such  in- 
quiries each  its  particular  day  of  the  week;  so  that  every 
day  might  have  its  own  topic  of  reflection,  and  every  topic 
its  due  share  of  attention.  Others  may  find  this  a  useful 
suggestion. 

A  renewal  of  your  resolutions  is  to  follow  this  inquiry. 
Knowing  where  you  are  and  what  you  need,  you  are  to  ar- 
range your  purposes  accordingly.  It  is  a  sad  error  of  some 
to  fancy  that  seeing  and  acknowledging  their  fiults  is  all 
which  is  required  of  them.  They  sit  down  and  bewail 
them,  and  in  weeping  and  sorrow  waste  that  energy  of  mind 
which  should  have  been  exerted  in  amendment.  But  it  is 
surely  far  better,  with  manly  readiness,  to  rise  and  act  with- 
out a  tear,  than  to  shed  torrents  of  bitter  water,  and  still  go 
on  as  before.  Regret  and  remorse  naturally  express  them- 
selves in  weeping;  but  repentance  shows  itself  in  action.  It 
may  begin  in  sorrow,  but  it  ends  in  reformation.  And  you 
have  little  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  your  reflections  and  your 
penitence,  if  they  do  not  issue  in  prompt  and  resolute  action. 


336  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

III.    Prayer. 

As  there  is  no  duty  more  frequently  enjoined  in  the  New 
Testament  by  our  Savior  and  the  apostles,  so  there  is  none 
which  is  a  more  indispensable  and  efficacious  means  of 
religious  improvement  than  prayer ;  for  which  reasons  it 
demands  particular  attention. 

The  practice  of  devotion  is  a  sign  of  spiritual  life,  and  a 
means  of  preserving  it.  No  one  prays  heartily  without 
some  deep  religious  sentiment  to  actuate  him.  This  senti- 
ment may  be  but  occasionally  felt ;  it  may  be  transient  in 
duration  ;  but  the  exercise  of  it  in  acts  of  devotion  tends  to 
render  it  habitual  and  permanent,  and  its  frequent  exercise 
causes  the  mind  at  length  to  exist  always  in  a  devout  pos- 
ture. He  who  truly  prays,  feels,  during  the  act,  a  sense  of 
God's  presence,  authority,  and  love  ;  of  his  own  obligations 
and  unworthiness ;  of  his  need  of  being  better.  He  feels 
grateful,  humble,  resigned,  anxious  for  improvement.  He 
who  prays  often,  often  has  these  feelings,  and,  by  frequent 
repetition,  they  become  customary  and  constant.  And  thus 
prayer  operates  as  an  active,  steady,  powerful  means  of 
Christian  progress. 

Indeed,  nothing  effectual  is  to  be  done  without  it.  That 
it  is  a  chief  duty,  even  natural  reason  would  persuade  us. 
That  it  is  a  condition  on  which  divine  blessings  are  be- 
stowed, Christianity  assures  us.  That  it  is  a  high  gratifica- 
tion and  enjoyment,  every  one  knows  who  has  rightly  en- 
gaged in  it.  And  that  it  is  of  all  means  of  moral  re- 
straint and  spiritual  advancement  the  most  effective,  no  one 
can  doubt,  \vho  understands  how  powerfully  it  stirs  and 
agitates  the  strongest  and  most  active  principles  of  man,  and 
how  complete  is  the  dominion  which  those  principles  have 
over  his  character  and  conduct.  All  this  is  clear  and  suffi- 
cient, without  adding  the  assurance  of  the  Savior,  that  it  is 


PKAYEII.  337 


effectual  to  draw  down  .spiritual  aid  from  Heaven.  Add 
this,  and  the  subject  is  complete.  It  is,  both  naturally  and 
by  appointment,  a  chief  duty  qf  man;  from  the  nature  of 
the  soul  and  the  intercourse  it  opens  with  God,  it  is  the  first 
enjoyment ;  and  through  its  own  intrinsic  power  and  the 
promise  of  Jesus,  it  is  the  most  effectual  instrument  of 
moral  and  spiritual  culture. 

Perhaps  you  have  been  accustomed  to  the  performance  of 
this  duty  from  your  childhood.     You  were  early  taught  to 
repeat  your    prayers,   marning    and    evening.     Pains    were 
taken  to  make  you  understand  the  nature  of  the  duty,  and  to 
give  you  right  impressions  in  performing  it.     Perhaps  you 
have  retained  these  impressions,  and  have  continued  to  this 
time  the  practice  of  sincere  devotion.     On  the  other  hand, 
you  may  have  lost  those  impressions,  and  become  neglectful 
of  the  duty.     Or  perhaps  you  are  so  unhappy  as  never  to 
have  received  instruction  on  this  head.     You  have  passed 
through   childliood   without   the  practice,   and   without  the 
sentiment  whicli  should  uispire  it;   and  now,  when  awakened 
to  a  sense  of  your  responsibility,  you  find  yourself  a  stran- 
ger to  the  mercy-seat.     But,  however  the  case  may  be,  the 
sense  of  your  religious  wants  now  urges  you  to  devotion  ; 
and  you  are  anxious  to  make  that   acquaintance  with  God, 
which   alone   can   secure  you  peace.     How  to  perform   the 
duty,  how  to  gain   the  satisfaction,  how  to   reap  the  advan- 
tage, are  points  upon  which  you    are    anxious  to  obtain  di- 
rection. 

First  of  all,  let  me  urge  upon  you  the  importance  of  a 
plan,  and  of  customary  seasons  for  your  devotions.  Have 
your  settled  appointments  of  time  and  place,  and  let  nothing 
interfere  with  them.  Many  would  persuade  you  that  this  is 
too  formal ;  that  you  should  be  left  more  at  li'bertv  ;  that,  as 
you   are  to  pray  always,  it  is  quite   needless  to  "assign  any 


338  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS   IMPROVEMENT, 

special  season  for  the  duty.  And  one  may  conceive  of  a 
person  having  arrived  at  so  high  a  measure  of  spiritual  at- 
tainment, that  his  thoughts  should  be  a  perpetual  worship, 
and  retirement  to  his  closet  would  bring  his  mind  no  nearer 
to  God.  But  such  is,  at  best,  an  infrequent  case ;  at  any 
rate,  it  is  not  yours  :  you  are  a  beginner ;  it  can  never  be 
yours,  except  you  use  the  requisite  means  of  arriving  at  it ; 
and  certainly  among  the  surest  means  is  the  custom  of  set- 
ting apart  stated  seasons  for  devotion.  So  that  the  very 
reason  assigned  for  neglecting  becomes  a  strong  reason  for 
observing  them.  You  must  feed  the  soul  as  you  do  the 
body,  furnishing  it  with  suitable  nourishment  at  suitable  in- 
tervals. You  must  keep  its  armor  bright  and  serviceable, 
as  does  the  soldier  in  human  warfare,  who  examines  and 
restores  it  at  a  certain  hour  daily.  If  it  were  left  to  be 
done  at  any  convenient  season,  a  thousand  trifling  engage- 
ments might  cause  the  work  to  be  deferred  again  and  again, 
till  irretrievable  injury  should  accrue.  You  have  too  many 
other  engagements  and  enticements  daily  and  hourly  occur- 
ring, to  make  it  safe  for  you  to  leave  this  to  accidental  con- 
venience or  inclination.  In  order  to  secure  its  perform- 
ance, you  must  put  it  on  the  list  of  your  daily  indispensable 
engagements ;  and,  as  it  is  part  of  your  routine  at  certain 
hours  to  breakfast  and  dine,  and  at  certain  hours  to  attend 
to  the  concerns  of  your  household  and  profession,  so  also 
must  it  be  to  retire  at  certain  hours  for  religious  worship. 
The  wisdom  and  experience  of  all  the  religious  world  insist 
on  this ;  and  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  state  it  so  ur- 
gently, if  it  did  not  seem  to  be  a  notion  growing  into  favor 
with  some,  that,  as  the  spirit,  and  not  the  form,  is  the  essen- 
tial thincr,  it  is  better  not  to  be  burdened  with  methods  and 
rules,  but  simply  to  pray  always  ;  which,  there  is  reason  to 
fear,  would  in  practice  be  found  a  precept  to  pray  never. 


PRAYER.  3J59 

Assign  to  yourself,  therefore,  some  convenient  hour,  when 
you  shall  be  secure  from  interruption,  and  not  hurried  by 
the  call  of  other  business.  If  'you  are  much  engaged  in 
active  affairs,  you  may,  perhaps,  be  unable  to  secure  this, 
unless  you  rise  for  the  [»urpose  in  tiie  morning,  and  sit  up 
for  it  at  night.  This,  then,  you  must  do.  Deprive  yourself 
of  a  few  moments'  sleep,  morning  and  evening.  And  I  may 
ask  liere,  whether  the  multitude  of  persons  who  e.xcuse  their 
inattention  to  religious  exercises  by  their  want  of  time,  do 
not  thereby  expose  themselves  to  a  suspicion  of  insincerity. 
For,  if  they  were  truly  in  earnest,  it  would  be  a  very  little 
thing  to  retire  to  their  chambers  fifteen  minutes  earlier,  and 
to  rise  from  their  beds  fifteen  minutes  sooner.  If  they  were 
aware  of  the  magnitude  of  the  gain,  the  sacrifice  would 
seem  insignificant.  Nay,  they  might  even  perform  the  duty 
upon  their  beds ;  there  would  be  no  want  of  time  then. 
And  some,  who,  from  the  misfortune  of  poverty,  have  no 
place  to  which  they  can  retire,  being  compelled  to  live  at 
every  moment  in  the  company  of  others,  should  learn  to  feel 
that  the  bed  is  their  closet ;  that,  when  lying  there,  they  can 
"  pray  to  the  Father  who  seeth  in  secret;"  and  that  they 
need  make  no  complaint  of  want  of  opportunity,  so  lono-  as 
they  may  follow  the  Psalmist,  who  said,  "  I  remember  thee 
on  my  bed,  and  meditate  on  thee  in  the  night-watches." 

Having,  then,  your  stated  times,  if  you  would  make  them 
in  the  highest  measure  profitable,  observe  the  followincr 
rules:  First  of  all,  when  the  hour  has  arrived,  seek  to  ex- 
cite in  your  mind  a  sense  of  the  divine  presence,  and  of  the 
greatness  of  the  act  in  which  you  are  engagincr.  Summon 
up  the  whole  energy  of  your  mind.  Put  all  your  powers 
upon  the  .'Jtretch.  Do  not  allow  yourself  to  utter  a  word,  to 
use  an  expression,  thoughtlessly,  nor  without  setting  before 
yourself,  in  a  distinct  form,  its   full   meaning.     Remember 


340  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT, 

the  words  of  Ecclesiasticus :  "  When  you  glorify  the  Lord, 
exalt  him  as  much  as  you  can ;  ft)r  even  yet  will  he  far  ex- 
ceed ;  and  when  you  exalt  him,  put  forth  all  your  strength, 
and  be  not  weary ;  for  you  can  never  go  far  enough." 
Pour  your  whole  soul,  the  utmost  intensity  of  your  feelings, 
into  your  words.  One  sentence  uttered  thus  is  better  than 
the  cold  repetition  of  an  entire  liturgy.  For  this  reason, 
let  your  prayer  be  preceded  by  meditation.  In  this  way 
make  an  earnest  effort  after  a  devout  temper.  While  you 
thus  muse,  the  fire  of  your  devotion  will  kindle,  and  then 
you  may  "  speak  with  your  tongue  ;  "  then  you  may  breathe 
out  the  adoring  sentiments  of  praise  and  thanksgiving,  the 
holy  aspirations  after  excellence  and  grace,  the  humble  con- 
fessions of  your  contrite  spirit,  the  glowing  emotions  of 
Christian  faith.  As  you  proceed,  you  will  probably  find 
yourself  increasing  in  warmth  and  energy ;  especially  if 
you  give  way  to  the  impulse  of  your  feelings,  and  do  not 
check  them  by  watching  them  too  closely.  To  do  this 
chills  the  current  of  devotion,  and  changes  your  prayer 
from  the  simple  expression  of  desire  and  affection  into  an 
exercise  of  mental  philosophy.  Wherefore,  having  warmed 
your  mind,  give  it  free  way,  and  let  its  religious  ardor  flow 
on.  But  if,  as  will  often  be  the  case,  you  find  your  thoughts 
wander,  and  your  feelings  cool,  then  pause,  and  by  silent 
thought  bring  back  the  mind  to  its  duty  ;  and  thus  intermix 
meditation  with  prayer,  in  such  manner  that  you  shall  never 
fall  into  the  mechanical,  unmeaning  repetition  of  mere 
words. 

As  your  object  is  not  to  get  through  with  a  certain  task, 
but  to  pray  devoutly,  you  will  find  it  well  to  vary  your 
method  according  to  circumstances,  and  not  always  adhere 
to  the  same  mode.  I  have  sometimes  suspected,  that  one 
cause  of  the  little  eflicacy  of  public  worship   may  be  the  in- 


PRAYER.  341 

variable  method  of  conducting  it ;  whereby  it  is  rendered 
formal,  monotonous,  and  deficient  in  excitement.  But,  how- 
ever this  may  be,  it  is  quite  certain ^hat  a  similar  unvaried 
routine  would  be  extremely  injudicious  in  private  devotion. 
In  this  respect,  a  very  considerable  latitude  is  desirable. 
As  you  are  not  to  consult  the  wants  or  the  convenience  of 
others,  but  your  own  duty  alone,  you  may  have  a  single  re- 
gard to  what  shall  suit  the  immediate  temper  and  exigencies 
of  your  own  mind,  without  being  bound  by  any  prescribed 
rule  as  to  subject,  language,  or  posture.  You  will  always 
have  by  you  the  Bible  to  quicken  and  guide  you.  But 
sometimes  the  first  verse  you  read  may  lead  you  to  feelings, 
thoughts,  and  prayers,  which  shall  so  occupy  your  soul  that 
you  will  read  no  more.  And  it  is  better  to  read  but  one 
verse,  which  thus  influences  your  whole  spiritual  nature, 
than  to  read  chapters  in  the  unheedful  way  that  is  too  often 
practised.  At  another  time,  however,  the  reading  of  the 
Scriptures  may  be  your  principal  occupation,  and  your  less 
excited  mind  may  not  flow  beyond  a  short  ejaculation  at  the 
close  of  each  verse.  Sometimes  you  may  find  it  well  to 
assist  yourself  by  a  printed  or  written  form  ;  always,  how- 
ever, taking  care  to  leave  it,  when  any  sentiment  or  feeling 
arises  within  you  which  is  not  there  expressed.  The  main 
advantage  of  a  form  in  private  is,  to  suggest  thoughts  and 
stimulate  the  mind  ;  as  soon  as  it  has  done  this,  we  should 
lay  it  down,  and  go  on  of  ourselves.  Then,  presently,  if  we 
find  it  necessary,  we  may  again  recur  to  the  form,  and  make 
the  whole  exercise,  if  we  please,  an  alternate  use  of  the 
form,  and  of  our  own  language.  In  all  this  we  must  be 
guided  by  the  occasion. 

Similar  varieties  may  be  allowed  in  regard  to  the  subjects 
of  our  devotions.     There  are  some  great  and  lending  topics 
of  adoration   and   supplication,    which   may   at   no   time   be 
29* 


342  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS   IMPROVEMENT. 

forgotten  or  omitted.  But  it  cannot  be  necessary  in  every 
prayer  to  go  over  the  vvliole  field  of  devotional  sentiment. 
It  is  best  that  we  confine  ourselves  principally  to  those 
which  are  most  immediately  interesting  at  the  time,  and 
seek  to  render  our  present  circumstances,  fortunes,  failings, 
and  prospects,  the  nourishment  of  our  devotion.  The 
temptations  of  our  peculiar  lot,  our  recent  trials  of  temper, 
fortitude,  and  faith,  the  dealings  of  Providence  with  our 
family  and  friends,  the  exposure,  wants,  and  improvement 
of  those  most  dear  to  us,  —  these,  as  they  are  at  other  mo- 
ments of  the  greatest  concern  to  us,  should  be  the  objects 
upon  which  we  should,  first  of  all,  seek  the  blessing  of  God. 
This  it  is  to  connect  every  thing  with  religion  ;  in  this  way 
we  shall  avoid  the  error,  into  which  some  have  fallen,  of 
making  religion  a  wholly  independent  existence,  with  no 
reference  to  the  ordinary  duties  of  active  life,  and  no  bear- 
ing on  its  common  concerns,  and  of  course  exercising  no 
influence  upon  them.  Such  persons  have  exhibited  the 
strange  spectacle  of  two  contradictory  characters  in  one 
man,  the  one  apparently  devout,  the  other  immoral.  But 
the  consistent  Christian  will  never  separate  his  religion  from 
his  life,  nor  his  life  from  his  religion.  He  will  seek  to  in- 
corporate them  most  intimately  with  each  other.  And  this 
he  will  effect,  in  no  small  degree,  by  making  his  daily 
prayers,  not  the  expression  of  general  principles,  and  in- 
definite confession,  the  recitation  of  articles  of  faith,  or  dec- 
laration of  vague  desires  after  holiness;  but  the  e.xpression 
of  those  sentiments  which  belong  to  his  peculiar  condition, 
and  a  perpetual  reference  to  his  personal  character  and  cir- 
cumstances. It  is  for  these  and  concerning  these  that  he 
will  pray ;  and  therefore  his  prayers  will  vary  as  these  do. 

So  much,  in  a  general  way,  respecting  the  subjects  of  pri- 
vate devotion.     Next  we  may  say  a  few  words  respecting 


PRAYER.  343 

the  posture.  This  need  not  be  invariably  the  same.  Many 
have  laid  stress  upon  it;  but  it  seems  to  me  there  is  a  cer- 
tain freedom  to  be  allowed  in  this  particular  to  those  who 
are  invited  "  to  come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace."  Pro- 
vided we  secure  the  right  state  of  heart,  it  can  matter  little 
what  the  attitude  of  the  body  may  be.  There  are  times 
when  the  lowest  prostration  seems  best  to  express  and  pro- 
mote the  sentiment  of  lowly  adoration  and  broken-hearted 
humiliation  in  wiiich  the  worshiper  supplicates  his  Father; 
but  again,  in  a  ditlerent  tone  of  spirit,  he  is  prompted  to 
stand  erect,  and  lift  up  his  head  and  hands,  as  an  attitude 
most  corresponding  to  the  elevated  sentiments  by  which  he 
is  filled  ;  while  sometimes  he  feels  that  in  walking  to  and 
fro,  or  sitting  with  his  head  leaning  upon  his  hands,  he  can 
best  summon  his  mind  to  spiritual  worship.  Cecil  says, 
that  his  oratory  was  a  little  walk  in  the  corner  of  his  cham- 
ber, where  he  paced  backward  and  forward  as  he  prayed. 
Others  have  been  able  to  be  devout  only  on  their  knees. 
What  I  would  briefly  urge  is,  that  you  be  not  scrupulous  on 
this  head.  Allow  yourself  in  any  mode.  Try  various 
modes.  Adopt,  from  time  to  time,  that  which  best  cultivates 
and  encourages  the  right  tone  of  feeling.  At  the  same 
time,  you  will  probably  find  some  truth  in  the  remark,  that 
the  adoption  of  a  suitable  posture  aids  the  adoption  of  a 
suitable  frame  of  mind ;  that  the  expression  of  reverence  in 
the  attitude  conveys  a  feeling  of  reverence  to  the  spirit;  for 
which  reason  it  will  be  generally  best  to  assume  the  posture 
most  associated  with  the  sentiments  of  devotion,  and  depart 
from  it  only  when  the  change  may  be  favorable  to  engaged- 
ne.ss  and  fervor  of  mind.  The  soul  may  be  as  truly  pros- 
trati-d  when  you  stand,  or  walk,  or  ride,  or  work,  or  lie  in 
your  bed,  as  when  you  kneel  before  the  altar. 

Neither   be  too  scrupulous  concerning   the  use  of  your 


344  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

lips.  It  is  oftentimes  as  well,  or  better,  to  pray  mentally, 
without  uttering  a  sound.  Yet  at  the  same  time  there  ia 
danger,  if  this  become  our  practice,  that  it  will  end  in  turn- 
ing prayer  into  meditation,  and  that  our  hours  of  devotion 
will  become  hours  of  musing  and  reverie.  Tliis  would  be 
injurious ;  and  therefore  we  should  commonly  use  articulate 
language.  Our  thoughts  are  so  much  associated  with  words, 
and  words  with  their  sounds,  that  it  is  not  easy  to  think 
connectedly  and  profitably  without  the  use  of  speech.  It 
is  well,  as  I  have  before  said,  to  muse  for  a  time ;  but  when, 
after  musing,  the  fire  is  kindled  within  us,  as  the  Psalmist 
expresses  it,  then  we  should  "  speak  with  our  tongues." 
We  shall  find  this  an  essential  aid  in  rendering  our  senti- 
ments and  train  of  thought  distinct  to  ourselves ;  and  in  so 
impressing  them  on  our  memories,  that  we  shall  be  able  to 
employ  them  afterward  for  our  guidance  and  comfort. 
Good  sentiments,  which  merely  pass  through  the  mind,  but 
are  not  put  into  words,  are  apt  to  leave  no  trace  behind 
them ;  and  he  who  should  habitually  indulge  himself  in 
thinking  his  prayers,  instead  of  expressing  them,  would  find 
it  extremely  difficult  to  say  what  he  had  prayed  for,  or  to 
turn  to  any  account  in  common  life  the  employment  of  his 
sacred  hours. 

Meditation  is,  in  its  nature,  an  act  very  distinct  from 
prayer,  and  must  be  very  distinct  in  its  effects.  Some  effects 
may  be  common  to  the  two;  but  much  of  the  peculiar  and 
the  happiest  influence  of  devotion  on  the  character  must  be 
lost  to  the  man  who  allows  musing  to  take  the  place  of 
prayer.  It  is  one  thing  to  contemplate  a  blessing  and  desire 
it ;  quite  another  to  ask  for  it.  The  latter  may  require  a 
very  different  temper  of  mind  from  the  former  ;  and  it  is 
plain  that  the  promise  of  God  is  given  to  those  who  ask,  not 
to  those  who  desire ;  to  those  who  employ  petition,  not  those 


PRAYER.  345 

who  are  content  with  contemplation.  Therefore  arrange 
your  thoughts  in  words;  and  generally  give  them  a  distinct 
utterance  in  sound ;  pausing  occasionally  for  reHection,  and 
being  certain  that  you  do  not  employ  words  only,  but  that 
the  thoughts  which  they  express  are  actually  in  your  mind. 

In  regard  to  the  choice  of  words,  be  not  too  an.xiuus. 
Take  those  which  express  your  meaning,  without  regard  to 
their  elegance  or  eloquence.  You  will  naturally  fall  into 
language  borrowed  from  the  Scriptures,  and  that  is  always 
good  and  appropriate.  Only  take  heed  that  you  do  not  use 
it  mechanically,  and  without  due  consideration  of  its  sig- 
nificance. But  when  you  do  not  use  the  terms  of  Scripture, 
take  those  which  express  what  you  mean,  and  consider 
nothing  further.  I  would  lay  the  more  stress  upon  this,  be- 
cause some  persons  actually  plead,  as  an  excuse  for  the  neg- 
lect of  this  duty,  that  they  have  no  command  of  language, 
and  cannot  readily  find  correct  and  proper  words.  This 
would  be  a  very  good  reason  for  not  attempting  to  pray  in 
public ;  and  it  were  to  be  wished  that  some,  who  are  forward 
to  exhibit  themselves  in  this  act,  would  consider  it  more 
seriously.  It  is  an  injury  to  religion,  when  he,  who  speaks 
to  God  in  the  public  assembly,  or  the  circle  of  social  wor- 
ship, does  it  in  rude,  hesitating,  confused,  inappropriate,  or 
ungrammatical  language.  But  in  private,  when  you  are 
simply  to  pour  out  your  heart,  and  have  no  witness  but 
Heaven,  allow  yourself  to  put  aside  all  solicitude  on  this 
head.  Speak  as  you  feel,  and  whac  you  feel;  only  taking 
care  that  your  feelings  are  right,  and  that  you  know  what 
they  are.  Alas  !  you  will  often  find  it  a  task  diflicult  enough 
to  regulate  your  feelings,  govern  your  thoughts,  repress  wan- 
dering desires,  keep  out  vain  images,  and  bring  your  soul 
to  a  proper  attitude  of  reverence  and  love,  without  the  added 
embarrassment  of  arranging  words  by  the  rules  of  rhetoric 


346  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

and  taste.  This  is  an  occupation  which  interferes  with  the 
spirituality  of  the  duty  you  are  performing.  I  beseech  you 
to  disregard  it  altogether. 

As  respects  times  and  seasons,  it  may  be  considered  as  a 
salutary  rule,  that  it  is  better  to  pray  often  than  long.  There 
are  times,  undoubtedly,  when  the  mind  is  glowing  and  the 
heart  full,  that  the  exercise  may  be  advantageously  continued 
through  a  long  period,  and  the  disciple,  like  his  Master, 
may  spend  the  whole  night  in  prayer.  .  It  would  be  a  pity  to 
check  the  current  when  it  flows  thus  spontaneously,  or  to 
lose  the  luxury  of  such  a  season.  There  may  be  occasions, 
too,  when  duty  and  improvement  shall  seem  to  demand  an 
extraordinary  continuance  in  devotion.  I  do  not  therefore 
recommend  that  you  should  limit  yourself  to  a  certain 
stinted  number  of  minutes.  But,  as  a  general  rule,  do  not 
covet  long  prayers  ;  rather  multiply  their  number  than  in- 
crease their  length.  This  is  the  rule  of  Christ,  who  insists 
that  we  pray  often  and  always,  but  that  we  do  not  pray  long. 
A  most  wise  regulation  ;  for  the  mind  is  easily  wearied  by 
a  long  exercise,  and  is  likely  to  return  to  it  slowly  and  re- 
luctantly ;  and  in  the  interval,  it  is  liable  to  go  back,  like 
the  swinging  pendulum,  into  a  directly  opposite  state.  From 
which  cause  it  may  too  readily  happen  that  the  extended  de- 
votions of  the  morning  shall  exhaust  the  attention  of  the 
mind,  and  produce  religious  listlessness  during  the  day. 
Whereas,  a  shorter  act  of  worship,  which  should  excite 
without  exhausting,  which  should  kindle  the  fire,  but  not 
burn  it  out,  would  leave  a  glow  upon  the  feelings,  that 
would  abide  for  hours,  and  prompt  to  holy  thoughts  and 
spontaneous  acts  of  worship  at  short  intervals  throughout 
the  day.  In  this  manner,  the  great  object  of  keeping  up 
a  religious  wakefulness  and  sensibility  is  with  greater  cer- 
tainty obtained,  and  the  whole  current  of  life  more  surely 
colored  by  the  infusion  of  religious  sentiment. 


PRAYER.  347 

Let  this,  therefore,  be  your  method.  Accustom  yourself 
to  what  is  called  rjacidutory  prayer  ;  that  is,  to  very  frequent 
petitions  and  thanksgivings,  bursting  out  from  your  soul  at 
all  times  and  wherever  you  may  be.  Walk  with  God  as 
you  would  journey  with  an  intimate  friend ;  not  satisfied  to 
make  formal  addresses  to  him  at  stated  seasons,  but  turning 
to  him  in  brief  and  familiar  speech  whenever  opportunity 
offers,  or  occasion  or  feeling  prompts.  Remember  that  cer- 
emonious addresses  are  appointed,  and  are  chiefly  necessary, 
on  social  and  ceremonious  occasions,  when  a  company  of 
men  is  together,  and  many  minds  are  to  act  at  once.  They 
can  act  and  be  acted  upon  simultaneously  in  no  other  way  ; 
and  therefore,  in  civil  and  state  affairs,  as  well  as  in  reli- 
gious, this  method  is  in  use.  But  when  we  come  to  more 
private,  domestic,  confidential  intercourse,  we  abandon 
these  formal  and  complimentary  arrangements,  and  find  it 
most  natural  and  happy  to  do  as  occasion  prompts,  in  a  free 
and  unrestrained  style  of  conduct  and  of  speech.  Just  so  it 
should  be  in  our  more  private  and  confidential  communion 
with  the  great  Father  of  our  spirits.  The  more  it  is  unem- 
barrassed by  precise  forms  and  ceremonious  appendages,  and 
left  to  the  promptings  of  the  feelings  and  of  the  moment, 
the  more  appropriate  is  it  to  our  title  of"  children,"  and  the 
greater  is  the  felicity  which  it  furnishes. 

It  has,  of  course,  been  implied  in  the  preceding  remarks, 
that  all  is  to  be  done  in  the  spirit  of  devotion.  In  what 
manner  this  may  be  effected,  it  is  necessary  to  state  more 
distinctly ;  and  the  rules  to  be  given  for  this  end  will  suffi- 
ciently explain  in  what  that  spirit  consists. 

First,  then,  the  genuine,  effectual  prayer  is  the  prayer  of 
faith  ;  not  of  words,  not  of  form  ;  not  an  exercise  of  the  un- 
derstanding, reasoning  on  the  attributes  and  dispensations 
of  God,  and  uttering  its  judgments  on  duty ;   but  an  address 


348  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT, 

to  him,  accompanied  by  a  confident  persuasion  that  he  hears 
and  regards.  "  He  that  cometh  to  God,"  says  the  apostle, 
"  must  believe  that  lie  is,  and  that  he  is  a  rewarder  of  them 
that  diligently  seek  him."  Of  this  there  must  be  no  doubt 
on  the  mind.  You  must  realize  that  you  are  actually  speak- 
ing to  him,  and  he  listening  to  you,  as  truly  as  when  you 
address  yourself  to  a  visible  mortal ;  and  you  must  have  as 
real  a  conviction  that  something  depends  on  the  act,  and  as 
real  a  desire  to  receive  what  you  ask  for,  as  when  you  make 
a  request  for  some  important  favor  to  a  human  friend.  If 
you  doubt,  your  prayer  is  weak  and  inefficacious.  "  Ask  in 
faith,"  says  James,  **  nothing  wavering ;  for  he  that  waver- 
eth  is  like  a  wave  of  the  sea,  driven  with  the  wind  and 
tossed."  His  uncertain  and  fluctuating  mind  wants  sta- 
bility, and  cannot  receive  a  blessing.  Therefore  it  is  added, 
"  Let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall  obtain  any  thing 
from  the  Lord."  May  we  not  suppose  that  much  of  the 
dissatisfaction  attendant  on  our  prayers,  and  much  of  their 
unfruitfulness,  is  owing  to  the  doubtful,  hesitating  state  of 
mind  in  which  they  are  offered?  And  what  can  be  more 
miserably  destructive  of  all  energy  and  interest  in  the  em- 
ployment? If  you  doubt  whether  you  shall  be  heard,  you 
will  pray  timidly  and  coldly,  without  courage  or  spirit.  If 
your  prayers  are  thus  lifeless,  your  conduct  will  be  so  too, 
and  all  spiritual  savor  will  fade  away  from  your  life.  Do 
not,  then,  allow  in  yourself  this  doubtfulness  of  temper. 
The  most  extravagant  fanaticism,  which  sees  a  visible  light 
descending  as  it  prays,  and  finds  an  answer  in  presentiments 
and  dreams,  is  not  more  mistaken,  and  is  far  more  happy. 
Give  yourself  up  to  the  assurance,  that  they  who  ask  shall 
be  heard,  and  go  "  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace."  Jesus, 
by  his  invitations  and  doctrine,  has  given  you  a  right  to 
this  confidence ;  and  it  is  only  in  the  exercise  of  it,  humbly, 


PRAYER.  349 

but    firmly,  that  you    may  "  cast  out  the  fear  which  hath 
torment." 

Next,  your  prayer  must  be  fervent ;  that  is,  your  affec- 
tions must  be  engaged  and  interested  in  it.  You  must  not 
barely,  as  a  reasoning  philosopher,  or  well-instructed  pupil, 
declare  what  you  coolly  judge  to  be  right,  and  assert  that 
man,  in  his  present  relations,  ought  to  seek  and  do  what  is 
right,  and  that  God,  as  the  Father  and  Governor,  should  be 
adored  and  obeyed,  (which  is  the  tenor  of  the»devutional 
exercises  one  sometimes  hears;)  but  you  must  set  yourself 
actually  to  do  these  things.  You  can  only  be  said  to  pray 
when  the  sentiment  you  utter  springs  from  your  heart ;  and, 
rising  above  all  the  arguments  and  persuasions  of  the  wise, 
you  pour  out  your  feelings  as  a  little  child  confides  its 
thoughts  to  a  parent's  bosom ;  thinking  only  of  your  own 
dependence  and  need,  and  of  God's  ability  and  readiness  to 
succor  you,  and  earnestly  aspiring  after  that  purity  and  piety 
which  you  feel  to  constitute  the  excellence  and  bliss  of  marl. 
When  this  fervent  glow  is  upon  your  mind,  you  pray  in  the 
spirit.     Seek  for  it.     Be  not  content  without  it. 

In  the  next  place,  do  not  allow  yourself  to  grow  weary. 
Persevere;  however  ill  satisfied,  however  discouraged,  per- 
severe. Open  the  New  Testament,  and  you  will  see  how 
this  is  insisted  upon,  again  and  again,  and  by  various  illus- 
trations. "  That  men  should  always  pray,  and  never  faint," 
was  the  great  moral  of  more  than  one  of  our  Lord's  para- 
bles;  and  to  "pray without  ceasing"  was  the  corresponding* 
direction  of  his  apostles.  Situated  as  we  are  in  this  world, 
there  is  danger  that,  perceiving  little  immediate  fruit  from 
our  devotions,  we  should  relax  our  diligence  in  them ;  first 
doubting  their  value,  then  losing  our  interest  in  them,  and 
then  ceasing  to  perform  them.  But  we  should  recollect, 
that,  in  this  case,  as  in  all  the  most  important  and  admirable 
30 


350  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

provisions  of  divine  wisdom,  it  is  the  order  of  Heaven  to 
give,  not  to  a  single  exertion,  nor  to  a  few  acts,  nor  even  to 
some  continuance  of  effort,  but  only  to  a  long,  unremitted, 
persevering  effort.  We  read  tliis  lesson  every  where.  Look 
at  that  glorious  operation  of  God,  by  which  the  sun  cher- 
ishes and  matures  the  fruits  of  the  earth  for  the  sustenance 
of  its  creatures.  It  is  not  accomplished  by  one  act,  nor  by 
several  acts,  nor  yet  by  sudden,  violent  exertions  of  power. 
He  sends  out  his  beams  steadily,  day  by  day,  month  after 
month  ;  yet  the  fruit  is  still  green,  the  harvest  immature  ; 
and  if,  weary  with  the  work,  he  should  abandon  it,  famine 
might  devastate  the  globe,  when  but  six  days'  longer  perse- 
verance would  see  it  successful.  The  whole  toil  of  the 
season  might  thus  be  lost,  when  a  trifling  addition  only  was 
necessary  to  render  it  all-effective.  In  how  many  other 
cases  is  the  same  truth  illustrated !  Will  you,  then,  aban- 
don your  prayers,  because  you  do  not  witness  the  effect  from 
them  which  you  desire  ?  Will  you  be  discouraged,  when, 
by  a  little  longer  continuance,  you  may  receive  the  full 
blessing  at  once  ?  Shall  the  husbandman  "  wait  patiently," 
and  will  you,  looking  for  an  immortal  harvest,  lose  it  for 
want  of  patience?  No.  This  is  the  eternal,  immutable 
rule  in  regard  to  all  great  acquisitions.  Piety  and  virtue, 
character  and  immortality,  depend  upon  a  long  succession 
of  actions,  neither  of  them,  taken  singly,  of  essential  mo- 
ment, yet  all,  in  the  aggregate,  essential  to  effect  the  great 
end  in  view.  Apply  this  consideration  to  your  prayers,  and 
resolutely  persevere. 

Thus  it  is  the  humble  prayer  of  confident  faith,  fervent 
and  persevering,  from  which  you  are  to  hope  benefit  and 
acceptance. 

But  you  may  ask,  "  How  shall  I  know  that  it  is  accepted, 
and  with  what  answer  should  I  be  satisfied  ?  " 


PRAYER,  351 

To  the  first  part  of  this  question,  tliere  is  but  one  reply. 
If  you  are  conscious  of  having  prayed  aright,  you  may  be 
assured  that  your  prayer  is  accepted.  You  can  have  no 
external  evidence  of  the  fact ;  but  the  Scriptures  every 
where  dechire  that  a  right  prayer  is  certainly  accepted. 
This,  then,  is  a  reason  for  self-examination,  and  for  carefully 
regulating  the  state  of  your  mind. 

You  may  imagine,  however,  that  you  are  rather  to  judge 
by  the  answer  to  your  prayers ;  and  that  if,  after  offering 
earnest  petitions  for  certain  blessings,  you  find  them  denied, 
you  are  to  suppose  that  your  devotions  are  not  accepted. 

In  regard  to  this,  I  observe,  that  the  purpose  of  prayer  is 
twofold — particular  and  general;  the  first,  to  supplicate 
certain  specific  blessings  which  we  need  or  desire ;  the  sec- 
ond, to  obtain  the  divine  favor  in  general;  or,  which  is 
equivalent  to  it,  to  obtain  that  state  of  mind  and  heart  which 
is  always  an  object  of  complacency  with  God,  and  secures 
his  permanent  approbation.  Now,  it  is  evident  that  the  lat- 
ter is  an  object  infinitely  more  important  than  the  former. 
It  is  of  no  consequence  whether  you  receive  certain  gifts 
of  health,  or  safety,  or  prosperous  affairs,  in  comparison  with 
the  importance  of  attaining  that  frame  of  soul  which  God 
approves,  and  which  will  fit  you  for  heaven.  If,  then,  you 
have  plainly  gathered  from  your  devotions  the  advantage  of 
a  religious  growth,  —  if  you  are  brought  by  them  nearer  to 
God,  formed  into  the  likeness  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  made 
superior  to  the  things  of  earth  and  sense,  —  then  you  have 
gained  the  highest  objects  which  man  may  aspire  to,  and 
should  feel  no  dissatisfaction  or  doubt  because  inferior 
blessings  are  denied.  Having  received  the  greater,  you 
should  be  content  not  to  receive  the  less.  And  this  is  a 
sufficient  reply  to  the  second  part  of  the  question  stated 
above,  viz.,  "With  what  answer  shall  I  be  satisfied?"     Be 


352  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT, 

satisfied  with  that  answer  which  is  found  in  the  improving 
state  of  your  own  religious  affections  ;  in  the  peace,  seren- 
ity, confidence,  and  hope,  which  belong  to  a  mind  habitu- 
ally conversant  with  God,  and  which  God  bestows  only  on 
such. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  other  and  more  specific  an- 
swers may  not  be  sometimes  given  ;  for  doubtless  the  devout 
mind  may  often  have  reason  to  trace  particular  blessings, 
and  with  a  practised  eye  may  trace  them,  to  a  source  which 
has  been  opened  in  reply  to  the  prayer  of  faith.  When  you 
shall  perceive  it  to  be  so  in  your  own  case,  happy  will  you 
be ;  and  you  will  not  fail  to  acknowledge  it  with  suitable 
gratitude.  But  what  I  mean  to  say  is,  that  this  is  not  what 
you  are  habitually  to  expect :  you  are  not  to  wait  for  this  in 
order  to  the  satisfaction  of  your  mind.  God  feeds  his  chil- 
dren with  spiritual  food  ;  and  it  is  one  part  of  his  discipline 
of  their  faith  to  deny  them  temporal  blessings  in  order  to 
the  more  abundant  bestowal  of  those  that  are  spiritual ;  to 
advance  the  moral  man  to  perfection  through  the  disap- 
pointment or  mortification  of  the  outward  man.  Do  not, 
then,  be  uneasy,  because  your  prayers  may,  at  first  view, 
seem  inefficacious.  The  service  of  truth  and  virtue  is  not 
to  be  rewarded  by  the  wages  of  this  world's  goods.  Health, 
strength,  riches,  prosperity,  are  not  the  best,  they  are  not 
the  appropriate  recompense,  for  self-denial,  humility,  benev- 
olence, and  purity.  The  true  recompense  is  eternal  and 
imperishable.  If  you  have  this,  why  be  dissatisfied  that  you 
have  not  the  other  ?  If  you  have  this,  how  can  you  fancy 
that  God    has  not   accepted  your  prayer? 

To  which  it  may  be  added,  that,  if  you  prayetl  aright,  you 
prayed  in  the  spirit  of  submission ;  not  only  acknowledging, 
but  feeling,  the  wisdom  of  Heaven  to  be  greater  than  your 
own,  and  desiring  to  obtain  only  such  gifts  as  that  wisdom 


PRAYER.  a53 

should  judge  it  best  to  bestow.  Such  gifts,  of  course,  are 
granted.  If,  therefore,  you  were  sincere,  you  should  be  con- 
tent. You  are  not  relieved,  perhaps,  from  the  trouble 
against  which  you  prayed  ;  the  evil  you  fear  comes,  the  good 
you  desire  is  denied,  notwithstanding  your  earnest  supplica- 
tion. But  does  it  follow  that  your  prayer  is  slighted  ?  Be- 
lieve it  not.  What  you  designed  was,  to  ask  blessings ;  you 
named  the  things  which  you  esteemed  such  ;  but  at  the 
same  time  you  knew  that  your  judgment  was  fallible.  If 
God  has  refused  the  things  specified,  it  is  because  in  his 
judgment  they  would  not  prove  blessings,  and  he  has  be- 
stowed in  their  stead  an  increase  of  faith,  which  is  a  real 
blessing.  Or  perhaps  I  may  say,  he  has  proposed  to  you  a 
discipline  of  your  faith,  which  will  prove  a  transcendent 
good,  unless,  by  your  blind  discontent  and  misuse  of  it,  you 
turn  it  into  a  curse. 

It  will  follow  from  these  remarks,  that  we  are  to  dwell  in 
prayer  on  topics  rather  of  a  spiritual  than  of  a  temporal 
nature ;  that  we  should  ask  such  things  as  relate  rather  to 
our  character  than  to  our  condition,  rather  to  our  religious 
than  to  our  worldly  prosperity ;  for,  these  being  the  chief 
objects  of  desire  and  happiness,  (so  much  so,  that  our  peti- 
tions for  earthly  good  oftentimes  receive  no  reply  but  in  the 
state  of  our  own  minds,)  it  must  follow  that  they  should  be 
our  chief  objects  of  interest  and  desire  in  our  exalted  hours 
of  communication  with  God.  Our  religious  addresses  in 
those  hours  are  made  up  of  adoration,  thanksgiving,  confes- 
sion, petition.  Now,  two  of  these,  adoration  and  confession, 
relate  to  spiritual  objects  exclusively.  The  other  two  relate 
to  objects  of  both  a  spiritual  and  temporal  character,  the 
blessings  and  wants  of  both  soul  and  body.  But  it  is  plain 
that  the  former  far  exceed  the  latter  in  number  and  in  im- 
portance, and  should,  therefore,  occupy  the  larger  share  of 
30* 


354  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

attention.  If,  then,  you  would  do  what  is  most  consonant 
to  the  nature  of  the  exercise,  and  your  own  most  real  wants, 
if  you  would  receive  blessings  corresponding  to  the  petitions 
you  express,  you  will  dwell  principally  on  spiritual  and  im- 
mortal good;  seeking  first  of  all,  in  prayer  as  at  all  times, 
"  the  kingdom  of  God  and  its  righteousness."  You  will  do 
this,  also,  if  you  would  copy  the  pattern  which  our  Lord 
has  given  ;  for  of  the  seven  sentences  of  the  prayer  which 
he  taught  his  disciples,  only  one  has  relation  to  man's 
temporal  condition.  You  will  do  it,  if  you  would  imitate 
our  great  Exemplar  and  Master,  whose  recorded  prayers 
have  exclusive  regard  to  the  welfare  of  his  spiritual  king- 
dom and  the  bestowment  of  internal  blessings. 

And  it  is  not  to  the  example  alone  of  the  Savior  that  you 
are  to  have  reference  in  your  prayers.  You  are  also  to  re- 
gard him  as  the  Mediator,  through  whom  they  are  to  be 
offered.  It  belongs  to  the  system  of  our  religion,  that  the 
thought  of  its  Founder  should  be  associated,  in  the  minds 
of  its  disciples„  with  all  that  they  are  and  do  ;  with  their 
sense  of  obligation,  and  their  sentiments  of  piety.  They 
are  "to  do  every  thing  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus;  " 
with  a  consciousness  of  their  connection  with  him,  and  of 
their  dependence  upon  the  instruction,  motives,  and  strength, 
which  they  have  received  from  him.  They  are  "  to  walk 
by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God."  His  image  is  to  be  blended 
with  their  whole  life.  Especially  is  this  to  be  the  case  in 
the  acts  of  life  which  are  strictly  and  peculiarly  religious. 
"  Whatsoever  ye  ask  in  my  name,  believing."  "  Giving 
thanks  unto  God  and  the  Father  by  him."  It  is  only  through 
his  instruction,  authority,  and  encouragement,  that  they 
know  their  privilege  of  filial  worship,  and  are  enabled  so  to 
offer  it  that  they  may  look  for  acceptance.  The  hope  of 
pardon  on  the  confession  of  sin  is   grounded  upon  what  he 


PRAYER.  35& 

has  done,  suffered,  and  declared;  and  the  confidence  with 
which  the  penitent  seeks  forgiveness  and  life  is  owing  to 
his  trust  in  the  word  of  Jesus,  and  his  being  able  to  lean  on 
him  as  a  Friend  and  Advocate,  when  he  casts  himself  a  sup- 
pliant before  God.  Understand,  then,  that  the  acceptable 
prayer  is  that  which  is  made  in  the  name  of  the  great  In- 
tercessor;  and  let  your  heart  be  warmed  and  iniboldened  in 
your  devotions  by  the  consciousness  of  your  relation  to 
him  "  whom  the  Father  heareth  always." 

I  will  add  but  two  further  remarks  before  closing  this 
topic.  First,  I  have  all  along  assumed  that  I  am  address- 
ing a  person  sincerely  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  religious 
attainments.  This  siticerity  of  pursuit  is  a  fundamental 
requisite,  without  which  all  exhortations,  means,  assistance, 
sacrifices,  will  be  only  thrown  away.  If,  therefore,  after 
having  made  some  effort  after  a  spirit  of  devotion,  in  pur- 
suance of  the  course  recommended,  you  find,  as  men  some- 
times do,  that  you  derive  from  it  neither  improvement  nor 
satisfaction,  I  recommend  to  you  to  examine  whether  you 
are  really  in  earnest ;  whether  you  do  actually,  in  your  heart, 
desire  religious  improvement  ;  whether,  in  short,  there  be 
not  in  you  a  lurking  preference  for  your  present  state  of 
mind",  and  an  attachment  to  some  passion,  taste,  or  pursuit, 
incompatible  with  a  zealous  devotedness  to  Christian  truth, 
and  a  suitable  attention  to  the  discii)Iine  which  it  demands. 
Many  are,  no  doubt,  prevented  from  advancement  by  secret 
hindcrances  of  this  nature,  of  whose  operation  they  are  not 
at  all  aware.  If,  upon  inquiry,  you  cannot  discover  that  it 
is  so  with  you,  then  examine  strictly  the  methods  you  have 
pursued,  and  the  observances  you  have  practised.  You  will 
probably  find  that  they  have  been  in  some  particulars  inju- 
diciously selected,  or  improperly  or  insufficiently  attend- 
ed; that  you  have  failed   in  a  resolute,  steadfast,  systematic 


356  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

adherence  to  your  own  rules ;  that  you  have  habitually  al- 
lowed yourself  in  something  wrong,  or  neglected  something 
right.  Look  after  your  mistake.  When  you  shall  have  dis- 
covered and  corrected  it,  you  may  be  certain  of  securing 
the  improvement  you  desire. 

Secondly,  take  heed  that  you  do  not  allow  yourself  to 
fancy  that  an  observance  of  these  or  similar  rules  consti- 
tutes all  your  duty  under  this  head.  Do  not  forget  that  the 
devotion  which  Christianity  teaches  is  nothing  less  than  per- 
petually thinking,  feeling,  and  acting,  as  becomes  a  child 
of  God,  —  a  perpetual  worship.  This  is  the  end  at  which 
you  are  to  aim  —  an  end,  however,  which  is  not  to  be  at- 
tained without  the  use  of  means;  and  the  directions  in  the 
preceding  pages  are  designed  simply  to  point  out  some  of 
the  means.  Some  persons  do  not  need  such  directions. 
For  them  they  are  not  designed.  But  there  are  others  to 
whom  they  must  be  welcome  and  wholesome.  Let  such  use 
them,  but  without  forgetting  that  they  are  means  only.  Let 
them  guard,  from  the  first  and  always,  against  the  idea  that 
the  practice  of  these  will  secure  the  great  object,  without 
any  further  exertion  or  sacrifice ;  th:.t,  to  be  devout  men, 
they  have  only  to  observe  stated  seasons,  and  perform  stated 
acts.  There  cannot  be  a  more  pernicious  error.  It  is  at 
variance  with  the  whole  nature  and  spirit  of  Christianity. 
God  is  to  be  served  by  the  entire  life ;  by  its  actions  as  well 
as  its  thoughts,  its  duties  as  well  as  its  desires,  its  deeds  as 
well  as  its  feelings. 

The  religious  man  must  have  the  frame  of  his  mind  and 
the  tenor  of  his  conduct  at  all  times  religious;  in  the  mar- 
ket and  thefamily  no  less  than  in  the  closet  and  the  church. 
Indeed,  considering  how  much  more  of  life  is  spent  abroad 
in  action  and  trial  than  is  passed  in  the  worship  and  con- 
templation   of  retirement,  it    is   plainly    of  greater    conse- 


PREACHING. 


357 


qnence  to  watch  and  labor  in  the  world  than  in  private. 
Besides  that  it  is  easier  to  be  religiously  disposed  for  an 
hour  a  day,  when  reading  the  Bible  or  kneeling  at  the  altar,  - 
than  it  is  to  be  so  during  the  many  other  hours  which  are  full 
of  the  world's  temptations,  and  when  all  the  irregular  pas- 
sions are  liable  to  be  excited.  Remember,  then,  to  try  your 
prayers  by  your  life;  you  may  know  how  sincere  they  are 
by  their  agreement  or  disagreement  with  your  habitual  sen- 
timents and  conduct.  Regulate  your  life  by  your  prayers ; 
in  vain  do  you  think  yourself  religious,  if  you  go  with  holy 
words  and  humble  confessions  to  the  divine  presence,  but  at 
other  times  live  in  thoughtlessness  and  sin.  True  religion 
is  a  sincrle  thing.  Devout  exercises  form  a  part  of  its  exhi- 
bition ;  holy  living  forms  another  part.  Unless  they  exist 
together,  it  is  to  no  purpose  that  they  exist  at  all.  To  sep- 
arate them  is  to  destroy  the  religion.  To  this  consideration, 
then,  let  your  perpetual  and  vigilant  attention  be  given  ;  and 
be  satisfied  with  your  hours  of  devotion  only  when  they  exer- 
cise a  sacred  and  constant  influence  over  the  condition  of 
your  mind  and  life,  and  have  made  them  holy  to  the  Lord. 

IV.    Preaching. 

From  the  more  private  means  of  religious  improvement 
we  pass  to  the  consideration  of  those  which  are  in  their 
nature-  public. 

Preaching  is  a  divine  institution ;  and  its  authority  and 
wisdom  have  been  illustriously  justified  in  the  success  which 
has  attended  it  in  every  age  of  the  church.  It  is  to  a  pub- 
lication from  the  lips  of  living  teachers,  that  the  gospel 
owes  its  spread  through  so  large  a  portion  of  the  globe.  At 
its  first  introduction,  at  its  reformation,  and  in  its  present 
diffusion,  it  has  been  the  "  company  of  the  preachers  "  that 
has  arrested  attention  to  its  divine  truths,  and  subdued  the 
hearts  of  men  to  its  holy  power.     And   it  always  must  be 


358  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

the  case,  however  great  may  be  the  efficacy  of  those  more 
personal  instruments  of  which  we  have  spoken,  that  the 
pulpit  shall  be  the  main  engine  for  the  incitement  and  in- 
struction of  the  individual  mind,  and  the  maintenance  of  the 
power  of  religion  in  the  Christian  world. 

Multitudes,  however,  habitually  attend  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel  with  little  profit,  and  with  no  adequate  appre- 
hension of  its  purpose  or  value.  Habit,  thoughtlessness, 
inattention,  worldliness,  cause  its  sublime  instructions  to  be 
unheeded,  and  render  its  powerful  appeals  unimpressive.  It 
may  have  been  so  with  you  in  times  past.  But  if  you  are 
now  truly  awake  to  the  necessity  of  studying  the  improve- 
ment of  your  character,  and  making  God's  will  the  rule  of 
your  life,  you  will  listen  eagerly  to  the  preaching  of  his 
truth,  and  drink  it  in  as  a  thirsty  man  water.  I  say  nothing, 
therefore,  to  urge  the  duty  of  attendance  in  the  house  of 
prayer.  You  will  esteem  it  one  of  your  privileges,  and  ivill 
feel  that,  however  imperfectly  the  word  may  be  dispensed,  it 
is  yet  full  of  a  divine  savor,  and  profitable  to  any  one  who 
seeks  his  soul's  good  rather  than  his  mind's  entertainment. 

In  order  to  the  greatest  advantage  from  this  duty,  it  is 
well,  in  the  first  place,  to  give  heed  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  other  hours  of  the  Sabbath  are  spent.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  one  considerable  cause  of  the  inefhcacy  of 
preaching  is  to  be  found  in  the  circumstance  that  the  re- 
mainder of  the  Sabbath  is  passed  in  a  manner  little  likely 
to  prepare  the  mind  for  its  religious  services,  and  suited  to 
obliterate  the  impressions  received  from  them.  The  senti- 
ments exited  in  holy  time,  instead  of  being  cherished,  are 
checked  and  smothered  by  the  uncongenial  engagements  of 
the  rest  of  the  day  ;  and  Sunday  becomes,  at  length,  even  a 
day  for  hardening  the  heart,  through  this  habitual  resistance 
of  the  most  solemn  truths.     For,  when  exposed  to  their  fre- 


PREACHING.  359- 

qrient  repetition,  if  it  do  not  yield  to  them,  it  must  inevitably 
become  callous  to  them.  This  evil  you  are  to  guard  against, 
by  making  the  whole  occupation  of  the  day  harmonize  with 
that  portion  of  it  which  is  spent  in  public  worship.  And  to 
do  this  implies  no  fanatical  recluseness  or  morose  sullenness. 
It  implies  nothing  but  the  endeavor  of  a  reasonable  man, 
who  finds  that  the  cares  of  the  six  days  tend  to  distract  his 
feelings  from  religion,  to  counteract  them  on  the  day  set 
apart  for  that  purpose.  It  is  only  saying,  with  regard  to  all 
worldly  occupations,  what  Burke  said  of  politics  in  the  pul- 
pit :  Six  days  are  full  of  them,  and  six  days  are  enough  ; 
let  us  give  one  day  to  something  better. 

You  will,  therefore,  be  careful  so  to  spend  your  morning 
hours,  that  you  shall  enter  the  sanctuary  with  a  prepared 
mind,  —  already  touched  with  a  sense  of  God,  and  tuned  to 
his  praise.  Your  reading  and  your  thoughts  will  be  directed 
to  this  purpose ;  and  instead  of  cherishing  or  inviting  vain 
thoughts  and  a  light  state  of  feeling,  by  lounging  over  a 
newspaper,  or  a  novel,  or  by  conversation  on  the  passing 
events  of  the  day,  you  will  occupy  yourself  on  such  subjects 
as  shall  hallow  the  temper  of  your  mind,  and  exclude  the 
crowd  of  impertinent  desires.  Then  you  will  be  ready  to 
join  feelingly  in  the  public  service  of  your  Maker,  and  listen 
profitably  to  the  exhortations  of  the  pulpit. 

Yoii  have  doubtless  observed  in  your  own  case,  and  heard 
it  remarked  by  others,  that  the  same  discourse,  under  differ- 
ent circumstances,  seems  like  a  very  different  thing;  that 
what  at  one  time  is  listened  to  with  pleasure  and  interest,  at 
another  is  heard  with  indifference.  To  what  can  this  be 
owing,  but  to  the  variation  in  the  hearer's  state  of  mind  ? 
The  discourse  is  the  same ;  but  it  addresses  itself  to  a  soul 
at  one  time  tuned  to  the  occasion  and  the  subject,  and  at 
another  tuned  to  something   else.     So  important  is  adapta- 


360  MEAJJS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

tion,  as  might  be  illustrated  in  a  thousand  ways.  Hence 
you  will  study  to  carry  a  prepared  mind  to  the  hearing  of 
the  word,  that  you  may  not  fail  of  receiving  the  utmost  edi- 
fication. Otherwise  you  may  sit  under  the  most  powerful 
ministry,  and  hear  divine  truth  dispensed  with  an  eloquence 
worthy  of  angels,  and  yet  sit  unmoved.  It  can  be  powerful 
to  your  heart,  it  can  eifectually  promote  your  progress  in 
the  Christian  life,  only  through  your  own  preparation  to 
receive  it,  and  in  proportion  to  that  preparation. 

Let  me  also  caution  you  to  remember  that  there  is  good 
and  important  matter  belonging  to  every  subject  which  the 
pulpit  may  treat ;  and  it  is  very  unwise  (to  use  the  mildest 
expression)  to  turn  away  dissatisfied,  because  a  sermon  does 
not  happen  to  fall  in  with  the  state  of  your  feelings.  Hear- 
ers are  often  guilty  of  great  injustice  in  this  way.  They  are 
too  ready  to  measure  the  preacher's  fidelity  by  the  degree  in 
which  he  speaks  to  their  own  immediate  experience.  They 
are  earnestly  engaged  in  particular  views,  feelings,  trains  of 
thought,  processes  of  experience,  which,  filling  their  mind, 
seem  to  them  all  in  all ;  and  if  the  preacher  does  not  touch 
upon  these,  they  condemn  him  as  dry,  cold,  and  jejune. 
But  they  should  consider  that  there  are  other  minds  to  be 
suited  besides  their  own,  and  that  what  is  so  ill  adapted  to 
themselves  may  be  precisely  what  is  needed  by  others ;  nay, 
precisely  what  they  themselves  may  need  at  another  time. 
Instead  of  expressing  dissatisfaction,  they  should  rejoice  that 
every  one  receives  in  turn  a  portion  adapted  to  him,  and  en- 
deavor to  elicit  something  applicable  to  themselves.  If  they 
will  but  seek,  they  will  often  find  a  seasonable  word  when 
they  least  expect  it.  Let  me  entreat  you  to  make  this  your 
habit.  If  you  do  not,  it  is  plain  that  many  Sundays  will  be 
lost  to  you,  (for  you  cannot  have  your  own  case  always 
treated ;)  and  you  will,  moreover,  become  a   fastidious  and 


PREACHING.  361 

querulous  hearer,  discontented  with  yourself,  and  uncom- 
fortable to  others.  But  if  you  resolutely  bring  your  mind 
to  take  an  interest  in  whatever  you  hear,  you  will  always 
find  cause  for  contentment  and  satisfaction,  if  not  for  edifi- 
cation and  delight. 

Few  things  are  more  hostile  to  such  attendance  on  preach- 
ing as  shall  promote  religious  improvement,  than  the  habit 
of  listening  to  sermons  as  literary  or  rhetorical  efforts,  and 
for  the  gratification  of  a  literary  taste.  From  the  very  na- 
ture of  the  case,  it  must  result  in  constant  dissatisfaction. 
For  let  it  be  considered  how  few  of  all  the  authors  who 
have  published  books,  are  able  to  give  this  gratification  ; 
and  can  it,  then,  be  expected  of  every  preacher?  How 
small  a  proportion  of  the  thousands  who  have  preached 
have  printed  their  sermons !  and  how  few  of  these  have  a 
place  among  the  eminent  names  of  literature !  Hence  it  is 
impossible  that  every  preacher  should,  every  Sunday,  satisfy 
a  man  who  has  formed  his  taste  on  printed  specimens  of 
excellence,  and  who  comes  to  gratify  it  at  church.  It  is  in- 
evitable that  such  a  one  should  be  disappointed  and  dis- 
pleased, far  more  often  than  he  shall  be  tolerably  gratified. 
Those  who,  on  this  ground,  are  accustomed  to  speak  harshly 
of  ministers,  and  to  excite  discontent  in  the  community, 
would^do  well  to  rellect  on  the  unreasonableness  of  the  re- 
quisition, and  learn  that  they  injure  themselves  by  looking 
for  what  they  cannot  expect  to  find,  to  the  neglect  of  that 
substantial  good  which  alone  is  intended  to  be  conveyed. 
But  he  who  thinks  only  of  improvement,  and  the  religious 
exercise  of  his  mind,  will  always  find  something  to  engage 
and  satisfy  him.  Distinguished  talent  there  may  not  be,  nor 
original  thought,  nor  striking  images,  nor  tasteful  composi- 
tion, nor  eloquent  declamation  ;  but  Christian  truth,  old  and 
familiar  perhaps,  but  still  high  and  important,  there  always 
31 


362  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT, 

will  be.  Dwelling  upon  this,  excited  by  it  to  reflection, 
occupied  in  studying  by  its  light  his  own  character  and 
prospects,  and  the  perfections  and  purposes  of  God,  he  has 
no  lack  of  interesting  thought.  The  preacher  becomes  but 
a  secondary  object.  His  God,  his  duty,  his  salvation,  — - 
these  are  the  topics  on  which  his  mind  runs ;  and  these  he 
can  contemplate:  he  will  not  be  hindered  from  contemplat- 
ing them,  whatever  may  be  the  feebleness  or  deficiencies  of 
him  who  ministers  at  the  altar. 

Bacon  has  laid  down  a  rule  for  profitable  reading,  which 
ought  to  be  sacredly  applied  to  preaching,  by  those  who 
would  listen  to  it  profitably:  "  Read,  not  to  contradict  and 
confute,  nor  to  believe  and  take  for  granted,  nor  to  find  talk 
and  discourse,  but  to  weigh  and  consider."  What  you  hear 
from  your  minister,  "  weigh  and  consider  ''  for  a  religious 
end  and  a  personal  application.  To  listen  as  a  critic,  with 
a  fastidious  nicety  about  diction,  and  a  captious  sensibility 
to  style,  is  a  sure  method  to  defeat  what  should  be  the  first 
object  with  the  hearer,  as  it  is  the  great  purpose  of  the 
speaker.  For  which  reason,  it  has  been  remarked,  we  are 
not  to  be  surprised  that  Paul,  with  all  his  energy  of  speech, 
made  so  few  converts,  and  gathered  no  church,  among  the 
Athenians ;  the  sensitive  and  intellectual  taste,  and  love  of 
ingenious  fancies,  which  distinguished  them,  formed  a  habit 
of  mind  peculiarly  fitted  to  destroy  the  capacity  for  receiv- 
ing any  strong  and  profound  impressions. 

In  the  next  place,  if  you  think  that,  when  you  leave  the 
house  of  God,  you  may  discharge  from  your  mind  the 
thoughts  and  sentiments  there  excited ;  if  you  immediately 
join  in  frivolous  society  and  ordinary  conversation ;  if  you 
occupy  your  time  in  making  visits  of  ceremony,  or  in  read- 
ing the  Sunday  newspaper  and  books  of  amusement,  —  you 
can  derive  little  advantage  from   the  service  in  which  you 


PREACHING.  363 

have  engaged.     However  serious  may  have    been  your  at- 
tendance, however  earnest  the  wisli   for  improvement,  you 
are  taking  the   surest  method  to  render   it  aJJ  vain.     The 
word  spoken  must  be  treasured  up,  the  counsels  of  wisdom 
must  be  made  to  abide   in   the  heart,  the  instructions  and 
warnings  of  Heaven  must  be  fixed  by  reflection  and  thouo-ht, 
or  the  impressions  you  have  received  will   be  transitory,  and 
the  good  purposes  which  spring  up   within  you  will  pass 
away  like  the  early  dew.     If  the  preacher  have  presented 
arguments  for  the  truth  of  Christianity,  or  for  the  support 
of  any  of  its  great  doctrines,  of  what  use  has  this  been  to 
you,   if  you  shall    know    nothing    about    them    to-morrow? 
And  how  can  you  hope  to  remember  what   is  so  diificult  to 
bq  retained,  if  you  take  no  pains  to  refresh  your  mind  with 
it  by  immediate  retirement  and  contemplation  ?     If  he  have 
been  urging  you  to  the  study  of  your  own  heart,  and  point- 
ing out  the  sources  of  self-deception,  and  the  means  of  pres- 
ervation  against   the  sins  which   easily  beset  you,  and  you 
have  been  affected   and  humbled,  and   made  to  resolve  on 
greater  watchfulness,  of  what  avail  will  this  be,  if  you  im- 
mediately abandon  yourself  to  frivolous  topics  of  thought? 
and  how  are  you  any  the  better  prepared  for  the  temptations 
and  trials  of  to-morrow,  if  you  thus  drive  from  your  mind 
those  views  which  were  to  strengthen  you  I     Or,  if  he  have 
presented  to  you  the  elevating  truths  respecting  God,  and 
heaven,   and  man's  prospects  of  glory,  and  thus  raised   in 
your  spirit  a  glow  of  divine  love  and  a  sense  of  your  exalt- 
ed destiny,  and  you  at  once  turn  from  it  all  to  employments 
and  thoughts  which   are  wholly  of  earth,  then  is  not  that 
holy  excitement  worse  than  lost  ?    Have  you  not  done  some- 
thing to  harden  your  heart,  and  render  it  less  capable  of 
receiving  the  same  impression  again  ?     For  you  have  resist- 
ed its  motions,  and  quenched  its   tire,  by  caJling  it  back  to 


364  MEANS    OF    KELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

this  lower  world,  when  it  was  just  beginning  to  delight  itself 
in  heaven. 

Depend  upon  it,  that  the  mere  attendance  upon  public 
worship  is  very  insufficient,  without  some  care  to  fix  its  im- 
pressions afterwards  and  to  recall  and  strengthen  what  you 
have  heard  and  enjoyed.  It  is  wise,  therefore,  to  go  back 
from  church  to  retirement,  there  to  think  over  the  truths 
that  you  have  heard,  refresh  the  feelings  that  you  have  in- 
dulged, apply  to  your  conscience  the  doctrine  delivered,  and 
supplicate  the  divine  blessing.  By  habitually  doing  this, 
you  will  in  time  become  possessed  of  a  large  fund  of  reli- 
gious information  and  moral  truth,  which  otherwise  might 
have  been  lost  to  you  ;  and  instead  of  being  in  the  condition 
of  those  who  cannot  perceive  that  the  pulpit  has  ever 
taught  them  any  thing,  you  will  find  it  a  most  efficient  and 
persuasive  instructor. 

It  is  a  custom.,  with  some  persons,  to  make  a  record  of 
the  discourses  which  they  have  heard,  entering  in  a  book 
the  texts  and  subjects,  together  with  a  brief  sketch  of  the 
train  of  remark.  This  is  a  very  commendable  and  useful 
custom,  provided  it  be  not  allowed  to  take  off  one's  thouglits 
from  the  duty  of  self-application,  and  do  not  become  a  mere 
effort  of  memory  and  trial  of  skill.  If  this  be  avoided,  the 
practice  will  be  found  useful  in  many  respects.  The  exer- 
cise of  writing  greatly  assists  that  of  thinking,  and  discov- 
ers to  one  whether  his  ideas  are  distinct  and  clear.  It  en- 
ables and  compels  him  to  look  closely  at  the  subject,  so  that 
he  cannot  dismiss  it  with  the  cursory  and  impatient  exami- 
nation which  he  might  be  otherwise  tempted  to  give  it.  It 
enables  him  afterwards  to  read,  with  distinctness,  the  im- 
pressions which  he  received,  and  to  revive  the  purposes 
which  he  formed  in  consequence  of  them.  Ilis  record  be- 
comes a  spiritual    monitor,  reminding  him,   whenever  he 


PREACHING.  365 

consults  it,  of  the  lessons  he  lias  learned,  and  the  expostu- 
lations he  has  heard  ;  and  prompting  him  to  a  more  definite 
comparison  of  his  actual  attainments  with  the  standard 
whicli  lias  been  placed  before  him.  The  advantages  which 
may  thus  be  derived  from  it  will  be  far  more  than  a  com- 
pensation for  all  the  trouble  attending  it. 

But  whether  you  make  such  memoranda  or  not,  the  prac- 
tice of  recalling  to  mind  the  instructions  and  reflections  of 
Gods  house,  if  ^systematically  pursued,  will  save  you  from 
the  pain  of  making  the  complaint  which  we  hear  from  so 
many  that  they  cannot  remeniber  what  they  have  heard, 
oftentimes  not  even  the  text ;  and  this,  too,  from  persons 
who  can  repeat  all  the  particulars  of  a  long  story  to  which 
tliey  have  listened,  or  a  longer  conversation  in  which  they 
have  taken  part.  Why  this  difference  1  Partly  because 
they  attended  with  greater  interest  to  the  story  and  the  con- 
versation ;  partly  because  these  are  more  easily  remembered 
than  a  formal  discourse ;  but  principally  because  these  are 
matters  that  they  are  accustomed  to  recall  to  mind  and  re- 
peat, which  they  have  not  been  accustomed  to  do  in  regard 
to  sermons.  The  want  of  practice  is  the  principal  diffi- 
culty. Make  it  an  object  always  to  remember,  and  be  in 
the  habit  of  going  over  again  in  your  mind,  the  principal 
topics,  and  you  will  not  be  troubled  with  want  of  memory. 

I  should  do  wrong,  however,  if  I  did  not  here  speak  a 
word  of  comfort  to  those  humble  and  sincere  Christians, 
whose  advantages  in  early  life  were  not  such  as  to  enable 
them  to  form  any  habits  of  intellectual  exertion,  and  who 
are,  in  consequence,  subject  to  a  weakness  of  memory  which 
tliey  have  struggled  against  in  vain,  and  which  is  a  source 
of  constant  unhaj)piness  to  them.  Every  thing  they  hear 
from  the  pulpit  slips  from  their  minds,  even  if  it  have  highly 
moved  and  delighted  them ;  and  they  fear  that  this  is  a  sign 
31* 


366  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

of  unprofitableness  and  sin.  To  such  it  may  be  well  to 
recommend  the  reply  of  John  Newton  to  one  who  came  to 
him  sorrowing  with  the  same  complaint.  "  You  forget," 
said  he,  "  what  was  preached  to  you.  So,  too,  you  forget  up- 
on what  food  you  dined  a  week  or  a  month  ago ;  yet  you  are 
none  the  less  sure  that  you  received  nourishment  from  it ; 
and  no  doubt,  also,  that  your  spiritual  food  nourished  you, 
though  you  have  forgotten  in  what  it  consisted.  So  long  as 
you  received  it  with  pleasure  and  a  healthy  digestion,  and  it 
has  kept  you  a  living  and  growing  soul,  it  can  be  of  no  con- 
sequence whether  you  particularly  remember  it  or  not." 

Finally,  preaching,  however  ineffectual  it  may  often  prove, 
is  one  of  the  chief  means  of  grace,  and  is  capable  of  being 
made,  by  every  individual,  a  principal  agent  in  his  religious 
advancement.  Let  it  be  so  to  you.  It  will  be  so  if  you 
attend  on  it  in  a  right  spirit,  and  faithfully  strive  to  gain 
nourishment  from  it.  Do  not  let  it  be  your  shame  and  guilt, 
that  you  sit  year  after  year  within  hearing  of  the  preacher's 
voice,  and  yet  are  none  the  better.  Do  not  suffer  it  to  be 
with  yourself,  as  it  is  with  many,  that  preaching  grows  less 
interesting  as  they  advance.  This,  it  is  true,  is  in  part 
owing  to  the  nature  of  the  mind,  which  finds  a  delight  in 
what  is  new  and  fresh,  which  it  does  not  perceive  in  what 
has  been  long  familiar.  There  is  a  charm  in  listening  to 
the  word  preached,  when  the  soul  is  first  awakened  to  an 
interest  in  the  concerns  of  its  salvation,  and  devours  every 
sentence  as  a  hungry  man  his  food,  which  cannot  be  fully 
retained  in  cooler  and  maturer  years.  But  if  the  charm  be 
entirely  gone,  if  the  relish  be  altogether  lost,  it  must  be 
through  your  own  fault.  It  must  be  because  you  have  not 
watched  over  the  tastes  and  susceptibility  of  your  mind,  but 
have,  through  neglect,  suffered  it  to  become  hardened.  Be 
but  faithful   to  yourself,  cherish  your  tenderness  of  spirit, 


THE   lord's   SPPPER.  367 

take  pains  to  keep  alive  the  ardor  and  interest  of  your 
younger  days,  and  you  will  find  that  your  feelings  will  not 
become  wholly  dead  to  the  voice  of  the  preacher  nor  will 
time  and  age  be  able  to  rob  you  of  this  source  of  your  en- 
joyment. The  ancient  philosopher,  on  whom  has  been  well 
bestowed  the  title  of  "  Rome's  least  mortal  mind,"  in  writ- 
ing beautifully  of  old  age,  tells  us,  that  the  great  reason  why 
the  faculties  of  men  are  impaired  in  tlie  declining  years  of  a 
long  life,  is,  that  they  cease  to  use  and  exercise  them;  and 
that  any  man,  by  continuing  vigorously  to  exert  them  as  in 
earlier  life,  may  hope  to  retain  them  to  the  last,  in  some- 
thing of  their  original  power.  The  remark  may  be  applied 
to  the  old  age  of  the  Christian.  By  faithfully  watching 
over  and  exercising  his  feelings  and  emotions,  he  may  retain 
them  in  some  good  degree  of  liveliness  and  vigor  to  the 
latest  period.  And  although  the  zest  with  which  he  hung 
on  the  ministration  of  the  word,  in  the  first  ardor  of  his 
youthful  faith,  may  be  gone,  he  will  maintain  a  sober  in- 
terest, and  find  a  tranquil  delight,  suited  to  the  serenity  of 
his  fading  days,  and  to  the  peacefulness  of  the  expectation 
with  which  he  waits  the  summons  to  go  home. 

V.    The  Lord's  Supper. 

This  interesting  rite  is  the  last  in  the  series  of  Christian 
means  which  I  shall  mention.  It  is  that  to  which  the  young 
disciple  is  accustomed  to  look  forward  with  intense  feeling, 
and  the  arrival  at  which  constitutes  an  era  in  his  progress 
fondly  expected  and  fondly  remembered.  Sometimes  it  ap- 
pears to  be  regarded  too  much  as  the  limit  of  improvement, 
the  goal  of  the  course,  the  prize  of  the  victory,  after  which 
the  believer  is  to  sit  down  and  enjoy  in  security  the  attain- 
ments he  has  made,  exempt  from  the  necessity  of  further 
watchfulness  and  combat.  It  is  owing,  in  no  small  degree, 
to  the  prevalence  of  this  opinion,  that   so  many  make  no 


368  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

actual  or  perceptible  progress  after  their  arrival  at  the  Lord's 
table.  They  esteem  it  less  as  the  means  and  incitement  of 
greater  improvement,  than  as  the  end  and  completion  of  the 
work  they  had  undertaken  ;  not  so  much  a  refreshment  to 
their  weakness  in  the  trying  journey  of  duty,  as  the  festival 
which  rewards  its  termination.  Be  on  your  guard  against 
this  erroneous  feeling.  Habitually  remember,  that  your 
vigilance  and  labor  are  to  end  only  at  the  grave;  that  the 
fight  lasts  as  long  as  life ;  that  the  crown  of  the  victor  is 
"laid  up  in  heaven;"  and  that  whatever  indulgences  may 
be  granted  here,  they  are  but  as  encouragements  to  your 
perseverance  and  strengtheners  to  your  weakness,  designed 
to  cheer  and  help  you  on  your  way ;  not  seasons  of  repose 
and  enjoyment,  but  of  recollection  and  preparation ;  so 
that  they,  in  fact,  form  a  part  of  that  system  of  discipline, 
by  which  every  thing  below  is  made  to  try  and  prove  the 
character  of  man. 

In  this  light  you  will  view  the  peculiar  ordinance  of  our 
faith,  —  as  a  privilege  and  indulgence,  but  also  as  a  pledge 
and  incitement  to  activity  in  duty.  From  the  moment  that 
it  has  been  your  purpose  to  become  a  follower  of  Christ, 
you  have  looked  forward  to  this  holy  feast  as  something 
which  it  would  make  you  but  too  blessed  to  be  permitted  to 
partake.  While  occupied  with  other  means  of  improve- 
ment, you  have  still  felt  that  there  was  one  thing  lacking, 
and  have  perhaps  been  stimulated  to  a  more  earnest  dili- 
gence in  the  use  of  them,  by  the  reflection  that  they  would 
prepare  you  for  this  ultimate  and  superior  enjoyment.  Such 
is  the  very  common  experience  of  the  growing  Christian ; 
and  it  is  my  wish  to  show  you  how  that  may  be  rendered  a 
blessing  in  the  enjoyment,  which  has  been  so  eagerly  de- 
sired in  the  anticipation. 

Settle  it  distinctly  in  your   mind,  tliat  this  ordinance,  so 


THE  lord's  supper.  369 

far  as  relates  to  your  concern  in  it,  has  a  twofold  purpose ; 
first,  to  express  and  manifest  your  faith  in  Christ,  and  your 
allegiance  and  attaclunent  to  him ;  secondly,  to  aid  and 
strengthen  you  in  a  faitliful  adherence  to  his  religion.  That 
is  to  say,  in  other  words,  by  your  attendance  at  the  Lord's 
table,  you  declhre  yourself  to  be,  from  principle  and  affec- 
tion, a  Christian  ;  and  you  seek  to  revive  and  confirm  the 
sentiments,  purposes,  and  habits,  which  belong  to  that  char- 
acter. These  are  the  two  objects  which  the  ordinance  is 
intended  to  accomplish,  and  which  you  are  to  have  con- 
stantly in  view. 

By  considering  the  first  of  these,  you  will  be  enabled  to 
decide  how  soon,  and  at  what  period,  you  ought  to  offer 
yourself  for  this  celebration.  Can  you  say  that  you  are  in 
principle  and  affection  a  follower  of  Jesus  Christ?  This  is 
the  question  you  are  to  put  to  yourself;  not  whether  you 
have  been  sucii  for  a  long  time  ;  not  how  great  attainments 
you  have  made  ;  but  are  you  such  at  heart,  and  are  you 
resolved  perseveringly  to  maintain  this  character  ?  Look  at 
this  ([uestion.  Ponder  its  meaning.  Put  it  to  yourself  fiith- 
fully.  Do  nothing  with  haste  or  rashness,  but  proceed 
calmly  and  deliberately.  Then,  if  you  can  conscientiously 
reply  in  the  affirmative,  if  you  have  already  showed  so  much 
constancy  in  your  efforts,  that  you  may  rationally  hope  to 
persevere,  you  may  make  your  profession  before  men,  and 
take  the  promised  blessing.  Hasty  minds  have  sometimes 
rushed  forward  too  soon,  and  only  exposed  their  own  insta- 
bility, and  brought  dishonor  on  their  calling.  Be  not,  there- 
fore, hasty.  But  timid  men  have  sometimes  hesitated  too 
long;  have  delayed  till  their  ardor  cooled,  till  they  fancied 
they  could  stand  and  flourish  without  any  further  help,  till 
death  or  age  overtook  them,  and  they  were  called  to  meet 
their  Lord  without  having  confessed  him  before  men.     Be- 


370  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

ware,  therefore,  that  you  delay  not  too  long.  To  deliberate 
whetlier  we  shall  observe  a  commandment,  after  our  minds 
are  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  duty  of  doing  so,  is  to 
break  it.  To  postpone  our  acceptance  of  a  privilege,  whea 
we  feel  that  it  is  such,  and  know  that  it  is  offered  to  our- 
selves, is  to  refuse  it,  and  to  forego  its  benefits.  He  who 
believes,  and  is  resolved  to  live  and  die  in  his  belief,  has  a 
right  to  this  ordinance ;  he  is  under  his  Master's  orders  to 
attend  it ;  and  he  should  reflect  that  obedience,  to  be  ac- 
ceptable, should  be  prompt. 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  your  attention  to  religious  things 
has  sufficiently  prepared  and  settled  your  mind,  you  will 
solemnly  acknowledge  it  by  this  outward  testimonial  of 
faith.  So  far  the  ordinance  looks  to  the  past.  It  also  looks 
to  the  future ;  and  you  will,  secondly,  as  I  said,  use  it  as  a 
salutary  means  of  religious  growth,  appointed  to  this  end, 
and  singularly  suited  to  accomplish  it.  You  will  regard  it, 
and  attend  it,  as  one  of  the  appropriate  instruments  by  which 
you  are  to  keep  alive,  and  carry  on  to  perfection,  that  prin- 
ciple of  spiritual  life,  which  has  had  birth  within  you,  and 
which  has  made  a  certain  progress  toward  maturity. 
^  It  is  a  means  singularly  fitted  to  accomplish  this  end,  be- 
cause it  is  an  ordinance  at  once  so  affecting  and  so  compre- 
hensive ;  —  affecting,  by  bringing  directly  before  us,  in  one 
collected  view,  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  insti- 
tuted, and  the  purposes  of  Heaven  with  which  it  is  connect- 
ed; —  the  trials  and  sufferings  of  the  Son  of  man,  the 
meekness  and  sublimity  of  his  submission,  the  tenderness 
and  pathos  of  his  last  conversation  and  prayers,  the  deser- 
tion in  which  he  was  left  by  his  disciples,  the  insults  to 
which  he  was  exposed  from  his  enemies,  the  torture  in  which 
he  died,  submissive  and  forgiving ;  and  all  this  that  he 
might  seal  the  truth  which  he  had  taught,  and  provide  sal- 


THE  lord's  supper.  371 

vation  for  miserable  men.  It  is  true  that  all  this  is  familiar 
to  the  mind,  and  often  brought  before  it  in  other  acts  of 
worship.  But  here  it  forms  the  express  subject  of  contem- 
plation and  prayer.  Here  it  is  set  before  us  more  evidently 
and  vividly  by  the  circumstances,  the  forms,  the  apparatus 
of  the  occasion.  It  is  made  the  special  object  of  regard, 
and  therefore  is  suited,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  to  affect  us. 

It  has  another  advantage.  It  is  as  comprehensive  as  it  is 
affecting.  In  its  primitive  intention,  in  its  simple  purpose, 
it  is,  as  it  was  designated  by  our  Lord  himself,  a  commem- 
oration of  him  :  "  This  do  in  remembrance  of  me."  And 
what  is  it  to  remember  Jesus,  rightly  and  effectually,  but  to 
call  to  mind  all  that  he  was,  and  did,  and  suffered,  in  his 
own  person  ;  and  all  the  blessings,  advantages,  and  hopes, 
which  have  resulted  to  us,  and  shall  forever  result,  from  his 
ministry  and  death  ?  These  are  all  connected  together  by 
one  close  and  indissoluble  chain.  They  are  united,  in  in- 
separable union,  with  his  name  and  memory.  When  we 
reflect  on  our  Muster,  our  minds  cannot  pause  till  they  have 
<Tone  over  all  his  example  in  life  and  death,  have  recalled 
his  character  and  instructions,  have  pondered  on  the  excel- 
lence and  beauty  of  his  truths,  the  ^lory  of  his  promises, 
the  bliss  of  his  inheritance.  Thence  they  will  pass  on  to 
survey  the  effects  which  he  has  already  produced  on  the 
condition  anfl  character  of  the  world,  to  observe  the  con- 
trast of  our  present  enviable  lot  with  what  it  would  have 
been  if  he  had  not  established  his  reign  among  men,  and  to 
contemplate  the  spreading  prospects  of  human  felicity  in 
the  wider  extension  of  his  kingdom  ;  —  the  removal  of 
error,  corruption,  ignorance,  and  sin,  and  the  establishment 
of  universal  truth,  righteousness,  knowledge,  and  peace. 
Thence  they  will  pass  on  to  a  future  world  ;  to  the  unseen 
and  unimaginable  joys  of  a  life  in  which  purity,  love,  and 


372  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

happiness,  shall  be  infinite  in  measure,  and  infinite  in  dura- 
tion, and  where  man,  made  the  companion  of  angels,  ft-eed 
from  sin  and  from  sufferincr,  shall  dwell  in  the  light  of  God's 
presence  without  end.  We  shall  recollect,  that  for  all  our 
hope  of  acceptance  to  that  world,  and  of  pardon  for  the  sins 
which  have  made  us  unworthy  of  it ;  for  all  those  gifts  of 
light  and  strength  which  shall  prepare  us  for  it ;  fur  all  the 
tranquillity,  consolation,  and  support,  which,  in  weakness, 
sorrow,  and  death,  the  knowledge  of  our  immortality  im- 
parts,—  for  these  we  are  indebted  to  Jesus  Christ;  without 
whom  we  should  still  have  remained  ignorant  on  this  first 
of  subjects,  and  unconsoled  in  the  severest  trials.  So  that, 
in  one  word,  there  is  no  topic  of  religion,  none  of  thanks- 
giving or  prayer,  none  of  penitence,  gratitude,  or  hope, 
none  of  present  or  of  future  felicity  for  ourselves  or  for 
others,  which  is  not  called  up  to  the  mind  by  the  faithful 
use  of  this  simple  but  expressive  service.  As  the  believer 
sits  at  his  Master's  table,  he  seems  to  himself  to  be  sitting 
in  his  presence ;  together  with  his  image,  every  blessino-  of 
his  faith  and  hope  rises  brightly  to  view ;  and  his  heart 
burns  within  him,  as  he  contemplates  the  grace  with  which 
his  unworthy  spirit  has  been  visited,  and  realizes  the  hope 
that  he  shall  partake  of  the  glories  which  his  Lord  revealed. 
As  he  looks  unto  him,  "  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our 
faith,  who,  for  the  joy  set  before  him,  endured  the  cross,  de- 
spising the  shame,"  he  grows  strong  to  do  and  endure  like- 
wise ;  animated  by  the  hope  set  before  him  of  entering  into 
the  joy  to  which  his  crucified  Master  has  ascended. 

Is  it  not,  then,  evident  that  you  have  here  a  means  of 
singular  power,  to  keep  the  attention  awake  and  the  heart 
right ;  and  that  your  spirit  can  hardly  slumber,  if  you  faith- 
fully open  it  to  the  influences  of  this  observance  ?  Remem- 
ber, however,  that  its  value  will  depend  on  yourself,  and  the 


THE  lord's  supper.  373 

manner  in  which  you  engage  in  it.  It  has  no  mystical 
charm,  no  secret  and  magic  power,  to  bless  you  against 
your  will.  Every  thing  depends  oil  your  own  sincerity  and 
devotion.  Earnestly  desire,  and  pray,  and  endeavor  that  it 
may  do  you  good,  and  it  will  do  you  good.  Go  to  it  heed- 
less, thoughtless,  and  unprepared,  and  it  will  prove  to  you 
an  idle  and  inefficient  ceremony.  The  great  cause  why  so 
many  derive  no  improvement  from  the  repeated  perform- 
ance of  the  duty  is,  that  they  attend  it  with  inconsideration 
and  coldness,  and  with  little  purpose  or  desire  of  being 
affected  by  it.  Let  your  attendance  be  in  a  different  state 
of  mind.  Engage  resolutely  in  the  suitable  meditations; 
examine  yourself  before  and  after ;  come  to  the  celebration 
with  a  temper  prepared  for  worship,  and  leave  it  with  one 
prepared  for  duty. 

There  is  a  peculiar  feature  in  the  mode  of  administering 
this  ordinance,  distinguishing  it  from  all  other  acts  of  social 
worship,  to  which  it  may  be  well  to  advert.  I  refer  to  the 
pauses  during  its  administration,  when  each  worshiper  is 
left  to  himself,  to  follow  his  own  reflections,  and  make  his 
own  prayers.  There  are  thus  united  in  the  occasion  some 
of  the  advantages  both  of  social  and  of  private  devotion. 
When  you  have  been  excited  by  the  voice  of  the  minister 
and  of  general  prayer,  you  are  permitted  to  retire,  without 
interference,  into  your  own  heart,  to  repeat  the  petitions 
and  confessions  with  a  more  close  reference  to  your  own 
case,  and  to  make  yourself  certain  that  you  understand  and 
feel  the  service  in  which  you  are  engaged.  You  may  find  a 
great  advantage  in  these  silent  intervals.  In  all  other  in- 
stances of  social  worship,  your  attention  is  required,  without 
ceasing,  to  some  external  process;  and  you  pass  on  from 
one  part  of  the  service  to  another,  with  little  opportunity  to 
reflect,  as  you  proceed,  or  to  pursue  the  suggestions  which 
32 


374  MEANS    OF    RELIGIOUS    IMPROVEMENT. 

are  made,  in  the  manner  that  your  own  peculiar  condition 
may  require.  But  in  this,  the  leisure  is  given  for  thoroughly 
applying  to  your  own  personal  state  all  that  has  met  your 
ear,  and  for  pouring  out  freely  the  devotional  feeling  which 
has  been  excited.  And  if  there  be  any  thing  favorable  to 
the  soul,  as  multitudes  of  devout  persons  have  insisted,  in 
occasions  for  contemplative  worship  in  the  presence  of  other 
men,  then,  in  this  respect,  the  Lord's  supper  may  claim  a 
superiority  over  every  other  season  of  social  devotion. 

Many  persons,  I  am  aware,  find  it  difficult  so  to  control 
their  minds  as  to  render  these  silent  moments  profitable. 
But  to  such  persons  the  very  difficulty  becomes  a  useful  dis- 
cipline, and  the  occasion  should  be  valued  for  the  sake  of 
it.  To  aid  them  in  the  use  of  it,  and  to  prevent  its  running 
to  waste  in  miserable  listlessness  and  idle  rovings  of  the  mind, 
it  might  be  well  that  they  should  have  with  them  some  suit- 
able little  book  of  meditations  and  reflections,  which  they 
may  quietly  consult  in  their  seats  as  guides  to  thought  and 
devotion. 

In  a  word,  prepare  your  mind  beforehand,  be  faithful 
during  the  celebration,  review  it  when  it  is  past;  and  you 
will  never  have  reason  to  complain  of  its  inefficacy  as  a 
means  of  religious  improvement.  You  may  not  enjoy  high 
and  mystical  raptures ;  you  may  be  sometimes  overtaken 
with  languor  and  coldness ;  but  as  long  as,  in  sincerity  and 
from  motives  of  duty,  you  present  yourself  in  this  way 
before  the  Lord,  you  will  find  that  there  is  refreshment  and 
encouragement  in  the  act.  You  will  have  in  it  satisfaction, 
if  not  ecstasy  ;  and  will  never  doubt  that  something  of  the 
steadfastness  of  your  principle,  and  of  the  vigor  of  your 
hope,  is  owing  to  this  affectionate  application  of  the  life, 
example,  and  sacrifice  of  the  Savior,  in  the  way  of  his  ap- 
pointment. 


THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE.  375 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE. 

Next  to  the  means  to  be  employed  in  the  promotion  of 
personal  religion,  we  must  attend  to  the  oversight  and  di- 
rection of  the  character  in  general.  The  means  of  which 
we  have  taken  notice  consist  of  a  series  of  special  and 
stated  exercises,  whose  object  is  to  prepare  us  for  tlie  right 
conduct  of  actual  life;  and  they  may  be  compared  to  the 
daily  drill  of  the  soldier,  by  which  he  is  made  ready  for  the 
field.  Watchfulness  and  self-discipline  belong  to  all  times 
and  occasions,  and  may  be  compared  to  the  actual  use 
which  the  soldier  makes  of  his  preparation  in  the  camp  and 
the  field.  The  Christian  is  engaged  occasionally  in  prayer, 
meditation,  study,  and  the  communion  ;  he  must  watch  and 
govern  himself  always.  To  the  former  duties  he  devotes  cer- 
tain appropriate  seasons;  the  latter  belong  to  every  season 
and  all  hours.  The  former  constitute  his  preparation  for 
the  Christian  life ;  the  latter  constitute  its  pervading  spirit. 
No  punctuality  or  fidelity  in  the  former  proves  a  man  to  be 
religious  without  the  latter.  And  therefore,  having  stated 
the  manner  in  which  these  means  are  to  be  used,  it  is  neces- 
sary for  us  to  go  on  and  show  how  they  are  to  affect  the 
whole  conduct  of  life,  and  make  it  an  exercise  of  perpetual 
self-discipline. 

Why  you  are  to  be  always  watchful  over  yourself  is  easily 
perceived.  In  this  world  of  sensible  objects  and  temporal 
pursuits,  you  are  constantly  exposed  to  have  your  thoughts 
absorbed  by  surrounding  things,  and  withdrawn  from  the 
spiritual  objects  to  which  they  should  be  primarily  attached. 
You  are  incited  to  forget  them,  to  slight  them,  to  counteract 


376  THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE. 

them.  The  engagements,  the  anxiety,  hurry,  and  pleasures 
of  life,  thrust  them  from  your  thoughts ;  and  desires,  pro 
pensities,  passions,  are  excited  quite  inconsistent  with  the 
calm  and  heavenward  affections  of  Clirist.  All  these  ten- 
dencies in  your  situation  are  to  be  resisted.  You  are  to  be 
ever  on  the  alert,  that  they  may  not  lead  you  into  any 
course  of  thought  or  of  action  at  variance  with  the  princi- 
ples to  which  you  are  pledged  as  a  believer  in  Jesus  Christ, 
and  which  form  your  delight  in  your  hours  of  devotional 
enjoyment.  Such  inconsistency  may  be  sometimes  wit- 
nessed. But  what  can  be  more  melancholy  than  to  see  a 
rational  being,  deeply  convinced  of  the  truths  of  religion, 
in  his  sober  hours  of  thought  dwelling  on  them  with  fond 
and  delighted  contemplation,  excited  by  them  to  a  devout 
ardor  of  communion  with  God,  and  sometimes  to  a  glow  of 
holy  rapture  which  seems  to  belong  to  a  superior  nature  ; 
and  then  sinking  into  worldliness,  governing  himself,  in 
ordinary  life,  by  selfish  maxims  of  temporal  interest,  obeying 
the  passions  and  propensities  of  his  animaHieing,  and,  in  a 
word,  living  precisely  as  he  would  do,  did  he  believe  that 
there  is  nothing  higher  or  better  than  this  poor  life?  I  ask, 
what  can  be  more  sad  or  pitiable  than  such  a  spectacle  ? 
Let  it  be  your  earnest  care  to  guard  against  so  deplorable 
an  inconsistency.  Now,  while  your  mind  is  warm  with  its 
early  interest  in  divine  things,  —  now,  while  they  press  upon 
you  in  all  their  freshness,  —  now,  take  heed  that  you  do  not 
concentrate  that  interest,  and  use  all  its  strength,  in  the 
luxury  of  devout  musing,  or  the  excitements  of  study  and 
devotion ;  but  carry  it  into  your  whole  life  ;  let  it  be  always 
present  to  you  in  all  you  do,  in  all  you  say ;  let  it  form  your 
habitual  state  of  feeling,  your  customary  frame  of  mind  and 
temper.  Make  it  your  constant  study  that  nothing  shall  be 
inconsistent  with  it,  but  every  thing  partake  of  its  power. 


THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE.  377 

This  is  the  watchfulness  in  which  you  must  live.  This  is 
the  purpose  for  which  you  must  exercise  over  yourself  an 
unremitting  and  ever-wakeful  discipline  ;  seeing  to  it,  like 
some  magistrate  over  a  city,  or  some  conunander  over  an 
army, fh.1t -all  your  thoughts,  dispositions,  words,  and  actions 
be  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  and  the  principles  of  the 
Christian  faith. 

Thus  it  is  plain  that  your  chief  business,  as  well  as  your 
great  trial,  in  forming  a  Christian  character,  lies  in  the  or- 
dinary tenor  of  life.  The  world  is  the  theatre  on  which 
you  are  to  prove  yourself  a  Christian.  It  is  in  the  occur- 
rences of  every  day,  in  the  relations  of  every  hour,  in  your 
affairs,  in  your  family,  in  your  conversation  with  those 
around  you,  in  your  treatment  of  them,  and  your  reception 
of  their  treatment,  —  it  is  in  these  that  you  are  to  cultivate 
iMid  perfect  the  character  of  a  child  of  God.  It  is  in  these 
that  your  passions  are  exercised,  and  your  government  of 
them  proved ;  in  these  that  your  command  over  that  unruly 
member,  the  tongue,  is  made  known ;  in  these  that  tenijjta- 
tions  to  wrong-doing  and  evil-speaking  beset  you,  and  that 
you  are  to  apply  your  religious  principle  in  resisting  them. 
In  these  it  is,  consequently,  that  you  discover  whether  your 
principle  is  real  and  genuine,  or  whether  it  lies  only  in  feel- 
ing and  in  words.  In  the  quiet  of  your  chamber,  in  the 
devout  solitude  of  your  closet,  when  the  world  is  shut  out, 
and  your  solemnized  spirit  feels  itself  alone  with  God,  yon 
may  be  so  exalted  by  commujiion  with  Heaven,  and  by  med- 
itation on  heavenly  truth,  that  all  things  earthly  shall  seem 
worthless  and  paltry,  and  every  desire  be  set  upon  things 
above.  IIow  often,  at  such  times,  does  it  appear  as  if  the 
world  had  no  longer  any  charms,  as  if  its  pleasures  and 
pomp  could  never  again  entice  or  delight  us!  Our  souls 
are  above  ihem.  We  have  no  more  relish  for  them  than 
.V2* 


378  THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE. 

have  the  angels.  And  if  this  were  all  which  is  required  of 
us,  if  nothing  opposed  to  this  delightful  frame  of  mind  were 
ever  to  cross  our  path,  the  Christian  prize  would  be  already 
won.  But,  alas !  in  the  closet,  and  in  the  third  heaven  of 
contemplation,  we  can  live  but  a  small  portion  of  t\m  time. 
We  must  come  down  from  the  mount.  We  must  enter  the 
crowd  and  distractions  of  common  life.  We  must  engage 
in  common  and  secular  affairs.  And  there,  how  much  do 
we  encounter  that  is  opposed  to  the  calm  and  serene  spirit 
of  our  contemplative  hours !  how  much  to  irritate  and  dis- 
turb our  quiet  self-possession  !  how  much  to  drive  from  our 
thoughts  the  subjects  on  which  we  have  been  musing  !  how 
much  to  revive  the  relish  for  transient  pleasures  and  worldly 
enjoyments,  and  a  love  for  the  things  which  minister  gratifi- 
cation to  pride  and  to  the  senses !  «  In  the  midst  of  these 
things,  dangerous,  enticing,  seductive,  you  are  to  live  and 
walk  unchanged,  unseduced,  undefiled ;  your  heart  true  to 
its  Master,  your  spirit  firm  in  its  allegiance  to  God,  and  your 
soul  as  truly  devout  and  humble  as  when  worshiping  at  the 
altar.  Is  this  easy  1  I  will  not  ask  ;  but,  Is  it  not  your 
great,  your  paramount  trial  1  Is  it  not  here  that  the  very 
battle  of  your  soul's  salvation  is  to  be  fought  ?  Is  not  this, 
as  I  said,  the  very  field  of  actual  and  decisive  war,  the  very 
seat  of  the  fearful  and  final  campaign?  And  the  prayers, 
and  studies,  and  observances  of  your  more  special  devotion, 
are  they  not  the  buckling  on  of  the  armor,  and  the  refresh- 
ing and  preparing  of  the  soul  for  its  real  combat  ? 

You  perceive,  then,  how  the  Christian  life  must  consist  in 
watchfulness  and  self-discipline  ;  how  it  must  be  your  great 
business  to  keep  a  faithful  guard  over  yourself,  that,  both  in 
mind  and  conduct,  nothing  may  exist  contrary  to  the  spirit 
and  precepts  of  Jesus  Christ. 

First  of  all,  this  guard  is  to  be  placed  upon  the  mind.     It 


THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE.  379 

is  an  intellectual,  internal,  spiritual  discipline;  the  oversight 
and  management  of  the  thoughts  and  affections. 

Tiiere  is  a  superficial  religion,  not  unpopular  in  the 
world,  which  is  limited  to  the  outward  conduct  and  the  ex- 
ternal relations  of  life  ;  which  is  made  to  consist  exclusively 
in  rectitude  of  hehavior  and  uprightness  of  dealing.  Into 
this  error  you  are  not  likely  to  fall,  if  you  learn  your  reli- 
gion from  the  New  Testament;  and  I  should  not  have 
thought  it  needful  to  warn  you  against  it,  had  it  not  heen  so 
prevalent.  Nothing  but  its  commonness  could  render  it 
credible,  that  men,  who  possess  the  Scriptures,  and  fancy 
they  understand  them,  or  who  are  simply  capable  of  obser- 
vation on  the  nature  of  man  and  of  happiness,  should  per- 
suade themselves  that  the  character  which  God  demands  and 
will  bless,  is  independent  of  the  state  of  the  mind  and  the 
frame  of  the  affections.  Is  it  not  the  mind  which  consti- 
tutes the  man  ?  Is  it  not  the  mind  which  gives  its  mora] 
complexion  to  the  conduct?  Is  it  not  certain  that  the 
same  conduct  which  we  applaud  as  indicating  an  upright 
character,  we  should  disapprove  and  condemn,  on  discover- 
ing that  it  proceeded  from  base  and  improper  motives?  So 
that  even  mm  judge  of  character  rather  by  the  principle 
which  actuates,  than  by  the  actions  themselves.  IIow  much 
more  completely  would  this  be  the  case,  if,  instead  of  being 
obliged  to  infer  the  principle  from  the  act,  they  could  dis- 
cern the  principle  itself,  as  it  lies  in  the  mind  of  the  agent ! 
Who,  in  that  case,  would  ever  judge  a  man  by  his  actions 
alone?  Who  would  not  always  decide  respecting  his  char- 
acter from  the  principles  and  motives  which  guided  him,  — 
his  thoughts,  dispositions,  and  habitual  temper  ?  And  thus 
it  is  that  tlie  Deity  judges  and  decides.  He  looks  not  on 
the  outward  aiipearanco,  but  on  the  heart.  Consequently, 
how  obvious  is  the  position,  that,  in  seeking  the  Christian 


380  THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE. 

character,  the  first  and  most  diligent  watch  must  be  placed 
over  the  inner  man  !  "Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence; 
for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life." 

This  implies  several  things.  First,  a  careful  guard  over 
the  thoughts.  It  is  in  the  heedless  disregard  of  the  thoughts 
that  corruption  often  takes  its  rise.  They  are  suffered  to 
wander  without  restraint,  to  attach  themselves  without  check 
to  any  objects  which  attract  the  senses,  or  are  suggested  in 
conversation,  and  to  rove  uncontrolled  from  one  end  of  the 
world  to  another.  How  many  hours  are  thus  wasted  in 
unprofitable  musing,  which  leaves  no  impression  behind! 
How  much  of  life  is  made  an  absolute  blank !  Worse  still, 
how  often  do  sinful  fancies,  sensual  images,  unlawful  de- 
sires, take  advantage  of  this  negligence  to  insinuate  them- 
selves into  the  mind,  and  make  to  themselves  a  home  there, 
polluting  the  chambers  of  the  soul,  and  rendering  purity 
unwelcome  !  This  is  the  beginning  of  evil  with  many  a 
one,  who,  from  this  want  of  vigilance  over  the  course  of 
his  thoughts,  has  surrendered  himself  to  frivolity  and  sen- 
suality, without  being  aware  that  he  was  in  peril.  Thought- 
lessness, mere  thoughtlessness,  has  left  the  door  open  to 
sin,  and  the  same  thoughtlessness  prevents  the  detection  of 
the  intruder. 

You  may  fancy  that  your  present  preference  for  profitable 
subjects  of  thought  is  such  that  you  are  in  no  danger  from 
this  source.  But  beware  of  trusting  to  any  present  disposi- 
tion. If  you  become  confident,  you  will  fall ;  and  the 
rather  because  the  beginning  of  this  peril  is  so  subtle  and 
sly.  Believe  that  the  danger  is  real  and  imminent,  or  it  is 
scarcely  possible  that  you  should  not  suffer  from  it.  You 
may  not,  indeed,  fall  a  victim  to  irregular  desires  and  hurtful 
immoralities;  but  the  habit  of  unwatched  thought  will 
weaken   your  control  over  your  mind,  will   diminish  your 


THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE.  381 

power  of  self-government,  and  rob  you  of  that  vigorous  self- 
possession,  alive  to  every  occasion,  and  prompt  at  every  call, 
which  forms  the  decision  of  character  tliat  ouglit  to  belong 
to  him  who  professes  to  follow  tlie  energetic  principles  of 
Gliristian  morality.  So  that,  if  you  would  be  saved  from  an 
uni)ecoming -weakness  of  mind,  and  its  possible,  not  to  say 
pro'  able,  consequences,  —  ungoverned  desires  and  passions, 
—  keep  a  guard  upon  your  thoughts.  Let  your  morning  and 
evening  prayer  be,  that  you  may  live  thoughtfully.  And 
when,  in  the  business  of  the  day,  your  hands  are  occupied, 
but  your  mind  free  to  think,  keep  yourself  attentive  to  your 
thoughts.  Inquire  frequently  how  they  are  engaged.  Di- 
rect them  to  useful  and  innocent  subjects.  Think  over  the 
books  you  have  been  reading;  rehearse  to  yourself  the 
knowledge  you  have  gained;  call  up  the  sermons  you  have 
heard ;  repeat  the  passages  of  Scripture  you  know.  By 
methods  like  these,  take  care  that  even  your  empty  hours 
minister  to  your  improvement.  Paley  has  truly  observed, 
that  every  man  has  some  favorite  subject,  to  which  his  mind 
spontaneously  turns  at  every  interval  of  leisure  ;  and  that 
with  the  devout  man  the  subject  is  God.  Hence  the  watch- 
inw  over  your  thoughts  furnishes  you  with  a  ready  test  of 
your  religious  condition ;  it  exposes  to  you  the  tirst  and 
faintest  symptoms  of  religious  decline,  and  enables  you  to 
apply  an  immediate  remedy. 

If  the  thoughts,  which  may  be  expressed  in  words,  are  to 
be  thus  guarded,  the  temper  and  feelings,  which  are  often 
po  in<lef)nal)le  in  language,  require  a  no  less  anxious  guar- 
dianship. In  the  perplexities  and  trials  of  daily  life,  in  the 
conllict  with  the  various  tempers  and  frequently  |>erverse  dis- 
positions of  those  around  us,  in  the  little  crosses,  the  petty 
disappointments,  tiie  trilling  ills  which  are  our  perpetual 
lot,  we  are  exposed  to  lose  ihii    <a!m   ecjuaniniity  of  mind 


Tsz  Tx:.::;iors  DisaruxE  of  lite. 

wbicb  the  Christian  sbosld  Inbitoallj  possess.  We  are  Uabie 
to  Ik  rafled  xod  mintted,  aad  to  feei  and  d^daj  anotlier 
.^iijt  diHi  tint  fiCBdeness  vlncii  **  bears  «D  tiv^s  aad  is 
Dc«  easily  jwoToied.^  The  sdfi^Hiess  of  doiDe,  tie  obsb- 
DBCT  of  otihea^  tbe  pride  of  oar  a^bbor,  t^  beediesaesB 
of  ooT  cbfldrea,  and  lie  ■iifiiilifahf  i  of  tmr  iepemdmts, 
tire  oar  p«be»oe,  and  £stKib  oar  setfpoBseEsua;  vUe 
boAj  aAiiljr  ad  ^sordered  aerFes  bn^m^  iosisBificaal 
lanoni  wirarif  into  3erioa3  erils,  and  irritate  to  peerisbaess 
Mil  iTi  II  iilioi  Ac  tenper  arUck  dotr  caUs  to  cbeaftkKSB 
imJ  aViiiiiM  Sobc  are  biased  vkb  a  saihie  qneteess 
of  II  mill  I  ■■!  ■!  ai^icii  bsdhr  feels  ^ese  boorir  TeratiooR. 
IkA  of  sane  tiier  foam  ife  sreas  trnd  aad  pecobar  oos; 
ther  can  bear  anj  da^  better.  Ami  to  al  peROBS  Aej 
fXKsdOtte  »  exposive  Ml  of  bazaerd,  aad  di.i  iiiiTiiig  cao- 
taoos  T^flanoe.  He  very  ^»kk  a»d  lAaii  J  trate  of  the 
Cl«igtia«  ekwaftfi-  leyuic  wattMiAicaB  ^ansT  dle■^  aad 
iBifilT  LnjayK.:*  oiccr  fbe^  IHk  koMiiit^,  aaeekBcss,  far- 
beaiJMtc,  gtaHVnf^  ^rf  love  of  peace;  the  Iwig  iiffiio^ 
Ae  paimfT,  Ae  mamilt,  ulach^  fcna  S9  knciy  a  isoMbiaa- 
tkn,  atlach  pcrtrar  z  chsader  that  bo  oae  can  &fl  to  aid- 
Bsre  and  lore :  —  these  are  to  be  mamtaiaed  only  br  mach 
and  puiicieiiitE  n^aJthftrtDP^ 

WiAoat  dK,  the  Most  cqasMe  ^^osnxm  bj  nature  iny 
beooK  imt^ie  and  ai^^ipj.  With  k,  ooder  the  aothor- 
itj  and  giudjBce  of  C^sistsaa  &ilh,  the  ■<£ 
ntB^  teonier  k  sabdaed  to  the  geiaJPfflR  of  the 
Kllhma  iLdieiiiteml  MirHiiia  of  asaa  is  resdesB,  xebel- 
fioBs.  hiH  of  -wT^tcheteesB,  faarias  bo  peace  «  i&df,  aad 
eajcKTBS  nci^kas  aroand.  Wkh  it.  the  xspea.  of  the  wcrld 
become?  «l«gpgcd :  erwr  dimg  k  bea^^aUe,  if  aot  pfeasaot; 
tiie  «wr  bach  bea^  anihaa  sfaaaes  «a  afi  wi&aat, 

TnAscr  .     ^  — .  Je  aapeca  of  aS  Tneau  and  smoothing  the 


THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE.  383 

roughnesses  of  all  affairs.  Who  does  not  know  how  much 
the  events  of  hfe  take  their  hue  from  tlie  state  of  the  dis- 
position ?  To  the  proud,  suspicious,  and  jealous,  every 
man  seems  an  intruder,  every  gesture  an  insult,  and  every 
event  a  cause  of  ve.vation  and  wrath.  To  the  self-governed 
and  amiable,  every  thing  is  tolerable,  and  he  feels  nothing 
of  the  incon'Veniences  which  make  the  misery  of  the  other. 
One's  happiness,  therefore,  as  well  as  duty,  requires  this 
control  of  the  disposition.  And  when  the  Savior  pro- 
nounced his  benediction  on  the  pure,  peaceful,  humble- 
minded,  and  meek,  he  taught,  not  only  the  great  requisite 
of  his  spiritu;d  kingdom,  but  the  great  secret  of  human 
felicity. 

When  the  frame  of  your  mind  is  thus  a  constant  care, 
you  will  find  little  difficulty  in  the  control  of  the  appetites. 
These  things  are  connected  together  ;  and,  an  ascendency 
over  the  former  being  secured,  the  subjection  of  the  latter 
easily  follows.  But  take  good  heed  that  it  does  follow.  Do 
not  be  thoughtless  about  it,  because  you  fancy  that  it  will 
of  course  accompany  a  regulated  mind.  Otherwise  it  is 
here  that  corruption  may  begin.  The  enemy  will  enter  at 
any  place,  however  improbable,  which  shall  be  left  un- 
guarded. And  it  only  needs  that  the  body  become  disor- 
dered through  the  immoderate  indulgence  of  the  appetites, 
to  raise  a  rebellion  throughout  the  whole  moral  system ;  or, 
to  speak  more  plainly,  this  indulgence  will  create  cloudiness 
of  mind,  indisposition  to  thought,  activity,  and  duty,  irrita- 
bility of  temper,  sluggishness  of  devotional  feeling,  and  at 
length  a  general  spiritual  lethargy.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  much  of  our  dulness  of  apprehension  and  dead- 
ness  of  feeling  on  spiritual  topics,  as  well  as  our  strange 
sensibility  to  minor  trials,  is  owing  to  a  derangement  of  the 
animal  economy,  which  is  again  owing  to  want  of  modera- 


384  THE    RELIGIOUS   DISCIPLINE    OF   LIFE. 

tion  in  gratifying  our  animal  desires.  Hence  there  was 
some  reason  in  tlie  abstinence  and  fastings  of  religious  men 
in  ancient  times ;  and  if  we  valued  sufficiently,  what  they, 
perhaps,  valued  superstitiously,  —  serenity  and  brightness 
of  mind,  an  equal  temper,  and  a  perpetual  aptitude  for  spir- 
itual contemplation, —  we  should  imitate  them  more,  if  not 
in  their  fastings,  yet  certainly  in  their  temperance.  At  any 
rate,  "  let  your  moderation  be  known  unto  all  men."  For 
temperance  is  not  only  the  observance  of  an  express  injunc- 
tion, but  is  essential  to  that  quietness  and  self-control  which 
should  mark  the  religious  character. 

The  next  exercise  of  self-discipline  will  be  in  conversa- 
tion. Conversation,  while  it  is  a  chief  source  of  improve- 
ment and  pleasure,  is  also  a  scene  of  peculiar  trial,  and  the 
occasion  of  much  sin.  One  might  suppose  that  few  persons 
ever  dream  that  they  are  accountable  for  what  passes  in 
conversation,  although  there  is  no  point  of  ordinary  life 
which  Jesus  and  the  apostles  have  more  frequently  and 
sternly  put  under  the  control  of  religious  principle.  Their 
language  is  strikingly  urgent  on  this  head  ;  and  yet,  so 
little  scrupulousness  is  there  among  men,  even  religious 
men,  that  it  would  seem  as  if  they  felt  ashamed  to  be  care- 
ful in  their  talk.  A  thoroughly  well-governed  speech  is  so 
rare,  that  we  still  say,  in  the  words  of  James,  "  If  any  man 
offend  not  in  word,  the  same  is  d^  perfect  man." 

Do  not  allow  yourself  to  be  off  your  guard  in  this  re- 
spect. Make  it  a  part  of  your  business,  by  a  cautious  pru- 
dence, to  have  your  speech  consistent  with  the  rest  of  your 
character.  Do  not  flatter  yourself  that  your  thoughts  are 
under  due  control,  your  desires  properly  regulated,  or  your 
dispositions  subject  as  they  should  be  to  Christian  principle, 
if  your  intercourse  with  others  consists  mainly  of  frivolous 
gossip,  impertinent  anecdotes,  speculations  on  the  character 


THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE.  385 

and  affairs  of  your  neighbors,  the  repetition  of  former  conver- 
sations, or  a  discussion  of  the  current  petty  scandal  of  soci- 
ety;  much  less,  if  you  allow  yourself  in  careless  exagcrera- 
tion  on  all  these  points,  and  that  grievous  inattention  to 
exact  truth  which  is  apt  to  attend  the  statements  of  those 
whose  conversation  is  made  up  of  these  materials.  Give  no 
countenance  to  this  lamentable  departure  from  charity  and 
veracity,  which  it  is  mortifying  to  observe  commonly  marks 
the  every-day  gossip  of  the  world.  Let  precision  in  every 
statement  distinguish  what  you  say,  remembering  that  a 
little  lie,  or  a  little  uncharitableness,  is  no  better  than  a 
little  theft.  Be  slow  to  speak  those  reports  to  another's 
disadvantage,  which  find  so  ready  a  circulation  and  are  so 
eagerly  believed,  though  every  day's  experience  shows  us 
that  a  large  proportion  of  them  are  unfounded  and  false.  In 
a  word,  be  convinced  that  levity,  uncharitableness,  and 
falsehood,  are  as  truly  immoral  and  irreligious  in  the  com- 
mon intercourse  of  life,  as  on  its  more  solemn  occasions ; 
that  idle  and  injurious  words  make  a  part  of  man's  respon- 
sible character,  as  really  as  blasphemy  and  idolatry;  and 
that  "  if  any  man  seem  to  be  religious,  and  bridle  not  his 
tongue,  that  man's  religion  is  vain." 

"  A  word  spoken  in  season,  how  good  it  is  !  "  Why  should 
you  not  do  all  in  your  power  to  elevate  the  tone  of  conver- 
sation, and  render  the  intercourse  of  man  with  man  more 
rational  and  profitable?  Let  your  example  of  cheerful,  in- 
nocent, blameless  words,  in  which  neither  folly  nor  austerity 
shall  find  place,  exhibit  the  uprightness  and  purity  of  a 
mind  controlled  by  habitual  principle,  and  be  a  recommen- 
dation of  the  religion  you  profess.  Let  the  authority  of  that 
faith,  to  which  you  subject  every  other  department  of  your 
character,  be  extended  to  those  moments,  not  the  least  im- 
portant, in  which  you  exercise  the  peculiar  capacity  of  a 
33 


386  THE    RELIGlOtTS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE, 

rational  being  in  the  interchange  of  thought.  Never  let  it 
be  said  of  your  tongue,  which  Watts  lias  truly  called  "  the 
glory  of  our  frame,"  that  with  it  you  bless  God,  and  at  the 
same  time  make  its  habitual  carelessness  a  curse  to  men, 
who  are  formed  in  the  similitude  of  God. 

The  influence  of  the  principle  which  rules  within  should 
thus  be  seen  in  all  your  deportment  and  intercourse,  on 
every  occasion  and  in  every  relation.  Your  outward  life 
should  be  but  the  manifestation  and  expression  of  the  tem- 
per which  prevails  within,  the  acting  out  of  the  sentiments 
which  abide  there  ;  so  that  all  who  see  you  may  understand, 
without  your  saying  it  in  words,  how  supreme  with  you  is 
the  authority  of  conscience,  how  reverent  your  attachment 
to  truth,  how  sacred  your  adherence  to  duty ;  how  full  of 
good-will  to  men,  and  how  devoutly  submissive  to  God,  the 
habitual  tenor  of  your  mind.  Your  spontaneous,  uncon- 
strained action,  flowing  without  effort  from  your  feelings, 
amid  the  events  of  every  day,  should  be  the  unavoidable 
expression  of  a  spirit  imbued  with  high  and  heaven-ward 
desires ;  so  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the  apostles,  those  who 
saw  them  "  took  knowledge  of  them  that  they  had  been 
with  Jesus,"  it  may,  in  like  manner,  be  obvious  that  you 
have  learned  of  that  holy  Teacher.  And  this  may  be  with- 
out any  obtrusive  display  on  your  part,  without  asking  for 
observation,  without  either  saying  or  hinting,  "  Come,  see 
my  zeal  for  the  Lord."  The  reign  of  a  good  principle  in 
the  soul  carries  its  own  evidence  in  the  life,  just  as  that  of 
a  good  government  is  visible  on  the  face  of  society.  A  man 
of  a  disinterested  and  pious  mind  bears  the  signature  of  it 
in  his  whole  deportment.  Ilis  Lord's  mark  is  on  his  fore- 
head. We  may  say  of  his  inward  principle,  which  an  apos- 
tle has  called  "  Christ  formed  within  us,"  as  was  said  of 
Christ  himself  during  his  beneficent  ministry,  —  it  "  can- 


Tilt;    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE.  387 

not  be  hid."  There  is  an  .itinosphere  of  excellence  about 
such  a  man,  which  gives  savor  of  his  goodness  to  all  wiio 
approach,  and  through  which  the  internal  light  of  his  soul 
beams  out  upon  all  observers.  Consequently,  if  you  allow 
yourself  in  a  deportment  inconsistent  with  Christian  np- 
rightness,  propriety,  and  charity,  you  are  guilty  of  bringing 
contradiction  and  disgrace  on  the  principles  which  you  prtv 
fess  ;  you  expose  yourself  to  the  charge  of  hyj)ocritically 
maintaining  truths  to  which  you  do  not  conform  yourself. 
You  dishonor  your  religion  by  causing  it  to  appear  unequal 
to  that  dominion  over  the  human  character  which  it  claims 
to  exert.  All  men  know  that,  if  "  the  salvation  reigned 
within,"  it  would  regulate  the  movements  of  the  life  as 
surely  as  the  internal  motions  of  the  watch  are  indicated  on 
its  face ;  if  the  hands  point  wrong,  they  know,  without 
looking  further,  that  there  is  disorder  within.  That  disor- 
der they  will  attribute  either  to  the  incapacity  of  the  prin- 
ciple, or  to  your  unfaithfulness  in  applying  it.  But  what  is 
of  far  greater  importance,  the  holy  and  unerring  judgment 
of  God  will  ascribe  it  to  the  single  cause  of  your  own  un- 
faithfulne^  and  for  all  your  wanderings  from  Christian 
constancy,  and  all  the  consequent  dishonor  to  the  Christian 
name,  you  must  bear  the  shame  and  reproach  in  the  final 
day  of  account. 

You  perceive  how  urgent  is  the  call  for  perpetual  watch- 
fulness and  rigid  self-discipline.  It  is  not  easy,  with  much 
intentional  guard  over  yourself,  to  keep  the  spirit  habitually 
right  in  this  giddy  and  tempting  world;  and  it  is  equally 
difficult  to  maintain  a  perfect  coincidence  between  the  prin- 
ciple within  and  the  deportment  of  daily  life.  Oftentimes, 
in  the  emergencies  and  hurry  of  business,  pleasure,  and 
society,  where  many  things  concur  to  drown  the  voice  of 
the  spirit  within,  we  find  the   lower  propensities  of  our  na- 


388  THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE. 

tiire  gaining  an  ascendency,  and  the  law  in  our  members 
rising  in  rebellion  against  the  law  in  our  mind.  "The 
things  that  we  would,  we  do  not,  and  the  things  that  we 
would  not,  those  we  do ; "  and  sense  and  passion  triumpb, 
for  the  moment,  over  reason  and  faith.  "The  flesh  lusteth 
against  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh,  and  these 
are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other."  And  how  shall  we  gain 
the  victory  in  this  perpetual  contest?  "  Through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,"  says  the  apostle ;  and  the  means  thereto  are 
found  in  his  injunction,  "  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not 
into  temptation."  Vigilance  over  every  hour  and  in  every 
engagement,  carrying  into  them  the  shield  of  faith  and  the 
whole  armor  of  God ;  and  prayer,  without  ceasing,  that 
your  soul  may  be  strong  to  wield  them  ;  —  these  will  secure 
to  you  the  victory.  Sometimes  you  will  find  yourself  in 
perplexities  and  straits,  sometimes  faltering  and  irresolute  ; 
but  never  forsaken  or  cast  down,  never  exposed  to  tempta- 
tion which  you  are  unable  to  bear,  or  from  which  there  is 
no  way  of  escape.  You  may  "do  all  things  through  Christ 
who  strengtheneth  you." 

I  have  thus  spoken  of  that  religious  discipliim  of  daily 
life,  in  which  the  Christian  character  is  formed  and  tried. 
It  will  be  sufficient  to  add,  in  conclusion,  that  your  great 
concern  must  be  with  two  things,  —  your  principles  and 
your  habits. 

First,  you  must  constantly  have  an  eye  to  your  principles. 
Take  care  that  they  be  kept  pure,  and  that  you  abide  by 
them.  They  have  been  well  compared  to  the  compass  of 
the  ship,  on  which  if  the  helmsman  keeps  a  faithful  eye, 
and  resolutely  steers  by  it  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  winds 
and  waves,  he  will  find  the  way  to  his  port ;  but  by  heedless 
inattention  to  it,  he  is  sure  to  go  astray,  and  be  blown 
whither  he  would  not.     Be  assured  that  it  is  only  by  adher- 


THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE. 


389 


ence  to  principle,  in  resolute  defiance  of  inclination,  oppo- 
sition, present  interest,  and  worldly  solicitation,  that  you 
can  insure  the  steady  progress  of  your  soul,  and  its  final 
arrival  in  heaven.  Neglect  it,  and  you  are  at  the  mercy  of 
circumstances,  tossed  helpless  on  the  waters  of  chance,  ex- 
posed to  the  huffetings  of  temptation  without  the  power  of 
resistance,  and  a  sure  prey  of  the  destroyer.  You  must  find 
your  safety  in  the  strength  of  your  principle ;  and  that 
strength  lies  in  the  original  power  of  conscience,  and  the 
added  authority  of  the  divine  word.  Herein  is  the  "still 
small  voice"  of  Heaven  ;  and  he  that  will  "  cover  his  face" 
from  the  world,  and  obediently  listen  to  it,  may  become 
morally  omnipotent. 

Secondly,  have  an  eye  to  your  habits.  Add  to  the  author- 
ity of  principle  the  vigor  and  steadfastness  of  confirmed  habit, 
and  your  religious  character  becomes  almost  impregnable 
to  assault.  It  is  in  no  danger  of  overthrow,  except  from 
the  most  cunning  assailants  in  a  season  of  your  most  culpa- 
ble negligence.  What  wisdom  and  kindness  has  the  Cre- 
ator displayed  in  our  constitution,  that  we  are  able  to  rear 
around  our  virtue  the  strong  bulwark  of  habit !  It  is  a 
defence  of  the  weakest  spirit  against  the  strongest  trial. 
Through  the  power  of  habits  early  formed,  how  many  have 
stood  in  exposed  places,  and  been  unaffected  by  solicita- 
tions to  sin,  beneath  which  others  have  fallen,  who  trusted 
to  their  good  purposes,  but  who  had  never  confirmed  and 
invigorated  them  in  action !  IIow  often,  for  example,  has 
the  young  man  from  a  retired  situation  —  educated  in  the 
bosom  of  a  virtuous  family,  and  under  the  eye  of  a  watchful 
fatliCT,  tlience  sent  forth  to  the  new  scenes  of  a  city  life, 
under  the  protection  of  good  principles  ayd  a  sincere  pur- 
pose to  do  well  —  been  found  weak  and  wanting  in  the  ex- 
posure ;  and   been   carried   away   headlong  by   the  tide  of 


390  THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE, 

temptation,  because  his  early  habits  were  suited  only  for 
seclusion,  and  his  principles  were  guarded  by  none  which 
could  secure  them  against  the  novel  assaults  that  were  made 
upon  them  !  While,  on  the  other  hand,  young  men  brought 
up  in  the  midst  of  these  solicitations  to  sin,  with  far  less 
inculcation  of  principle,  are  oftentimes  enabled,  through  tlie 
mere  strength  which  habit  imparts,  to  resist  them  all,  and 
live  in  the  midst  of  them  as  if  they  were  not.  It  cannot  be 
necessary  to  multiply  examples.  You  well  know  what  a 
slave  man  is  to  his  habitual  indulgences,  and  how  the  cus- 
tomary routine  of  his  life  and  methods  of  employment  tyran- 
nize over  him,  and  how  frequently  one  strives  in  vain  to  free 
himself  from  their  dominion.  The  old  proverb  is  every  day 
verified  before  you,  of  the  skin  of  the  Ethiopian  and  the 
spots  of  the  leopard.  But,  if  thus  powerful  for  evil,  habit  is 
no  less  powerful  for  good.  If  in  some  cases  it  be  stronger 
than  principle,  and  defy  all  the  expostulations  of  religion, 
even  when  the  miserable  man  is  convinced  that  his  safety 
lies  in  breaking  from  it,  —  then,  when  enlisted  as  the  ally  of 
principle,  when  coupled  with  faith,  and  made  the  fellow- 
worker  of  piety,  how  unspeakable  may  be  its  aid  toward  the 
security  and  permanence  of  virtue! 

Take  heed,  therefore,  to  your  habits.  Allow  yourself  to 
form  none  but  such  as  are  innocent,  and  such  as  may  help 
your  efforts  to  do  well.  In  the  arrangement  of  your  busi- 
ness, in  the  methods  of  your  household  and  family,  in  the 
disposal  of  your  time,  in  the  choice,  seasons,  and  mode  of 
your  recreation,  in  your  love  of  company,  and  your  selec- 
tion of  books,  —  in  these  preserve  a  simple  and  blameless 
taste.  Do  not  allow  any  of  them  to  be  such  as  shall  offer 
an  obstacle  to  serious  thought,  and  induce  a  state  of  feeling 
indisposed  to  religious  exercises.  Especially  do  not  allow 
them  so  to  enter  the  frame  and  texture  of  your  life,  that 


THE    RELIGIOUS    DISCIPLINE    OF    LIFE.  391 

every  effort  of  virtue  and  devotion  shall  be  a  pitched  battle 
with  some  cherished  inclination  or  sturdy  habit.  This  is 
to  increase  most  unwisely  and  needlessly  the  trials  and  per- 
ils of  a  religious  course.  It  is  to  raise  up  for  yourself  obsta- 
cles and  difficulties  beyond  those  which  properly  belong  to 
your  situation.  Rather,  therefore,  arrange  every  thing  in 
your  customary  pursuits  and  indulgences  to  favor  the  grand 
end  of  your  being ;  so  that  every  act  of  piety  and  faith  shall 
be  coincident  with  it;  so  that  little  or  no  effort  shall  be  re- 
quired to  maintain  the  steady  order  of  daily  duty  ;  and, 
instead  of  an  opposition,  a  struggle,  a  contest,  whenever 
principle  asserts  its  claims,  you  shall  find  the  ready  consent 
and  hearty  coiiperation  of  all  the  habitual  preferences, 
tastes,  and  occupations,  of  your  life.  He  in  whom  this  is 
so  is  the  happy  man.  lie  is  the  consistent  man.  He  is 
the  man  to  be  congratulated,  to  be  admired,  to  be  imi- 
tated. Universal  harmony  reigns  within  him  ;  no  opposi- 
tions, no  jarring  contentions,  mar  his  peace.  With  him, 
the  flesh  and  the  spirit  are  no  longer  contrary,  the  one  to 
the  other.  His  duty  and  his  inclination  are  one.  There  is 
no  dispute  between  what  he  ought  to  do  and  what  he  wishes 
to  do.  But,  with  one  consenting  voice,  heart  and  life  move 
on  harmoniously,  accustomed  to  and  loving  the  same  things. 
To  him  the  yoke  is  indeed  easy,  and  the  burden  light.  To 
him  heaven  is  already  begun;  and  when,  at  last,  he  shall  be 
welcomed  to  the  joy  of  his  Lord,  it  will  be  to  a  joy  which 
his  regulated  spirit  has  already  tasted  in  the  labors  and 
pleasures  of  obedience  below. 


PROGRESS 


C  II  R  1  S  T  I  A  N      L  I  F  E 


ADVERTISEMENT 


At  the  period  when  Mr.  Ware's  health,  began  irrecoverably  to 
fail,  and  just  before  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  all  occupation,  he 
was  devoting  his  hours  of  leisure  to  the  preparation  of  a  sequel  to 
his  work  on  the  Formation  of  the  Christian  Character,  which  he 
designed  to  entitle  "  Progress  of  the  Christian  Life."  Several 
chapters  only  were  finished.  They  are  too  valuable  to  be  lost, 
and  are  here  published  in  the  hope  that  they  may  be  useful.  The 
reader  Avill  form  by  them  an  idea  of  what  the  sequel  would  have 
been  if  its  autlior  had  lived  to  finish  it 

C.  R. 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 


The  following  pages  are  designed  as  a  sequel  to  tlie  little  work 
on  the  Formation  of  the  Christian  Character,  and  are  supposed  to 
be  addressed  to  tlie  same  persons.  When  one  has  adopted  the 
Christian  faith  as  his  rule  of  life,  and  begun  in  earnest  his  religious 
existence,  it  is  still  but  the  commencement  of  a  career  in  which  an 
indefinite  progress  is  to  be  made,  and  whicli  is  to  continue  forever. 
As  long  as  man  is  imperfect,  tliere  is  room  for  improvement.  As 
long  as  he  is  in  the  flesh,  there  is  occasion  for  watchfulness  and 
struggling  against  temptation.  There  is  need  that  his  principles 
become  more  and  more  fixed,  his  conscience  more  and  more  enlight- 
ened and  controlling,  his  passions  more  thoroughly  obedient  to  the 
law  of  righteousness,  and  his  whole  temper  and  demeanor  more 
steadfiistly  conformed  to  the  example  of  Christ.  In  a  word,  he  is  to 
grow  in  grace.     Advancement  is  his  duty,  perfection  his  aim. 

It  is  with  regard  to  this  duty  of  religious  progress  tliat  I  propose 
to  offer  a  few  hints.  There  are  some  errors  respecting  it  prevalent 
among  believers,  which  I  would  first  attempt  to  rectify ;  and  then  I 
would  explain  its  true  nature  and  character,  remove  discourage- 
ments, and  show  the  means  and  steps  by  which  it  should  proceed, 
and  how  actual  success  is  to  be  ascertained. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 


PA  OB. 


Errors  respecting  the  duty  of  religious  progress  noticed  and 
corrected  —  especially  the  error  that  the  Christian  life,  hav- 
ing been  begun,  is  accomplished, 397 

CHAPTER   II. 

Errors  noticed  and  corrected  —  especially  the  error  that  the 
Christian  life  is  not  to  be  taken  up  expressly  —  is  not  to 
have  a  marked  commencement, 406 

CHAPTER   III. 
Errors  noticed   and   corrected  —  especially   the   error   of  those 
who  fancy  that  the  Christian  life  may  be  sustained  without 
the  use  of  means, 4]  3 

CHAPTER   IV. 

The  young  Christian  put  on  his  guard  against  the  hinderance  to 
progress  which  arises  from  disappointment  respecting  the 
enjoyment  of  a  religious  life, 421 

CHAPTER   V. 

Considerations  designed  to  assist  the  Christian  in  the  success- 
ful use  of  the  means  and  methods  of  religious  progress, ....   429 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Maxims  on  which  the  expectation  of  religious  progress  is  to  be 
built, 436 


JN.  B.  The  following  titles  of  additional  chapters  or  sections  are  given  in 
Mr.  Ware's  manuscript. 

Ilindcrances.  How  Progress  manifests  itself^  and  is  to  be  ascertained. 
Progress  in  Knowledge ,  in  Self-government,  in  Spirituality  of  Temper,  in 
Ccmscientiousni'ss,  in  Disinterestedness,  in  Power  to  resist  Temptation.  In 
what  seiise  Perfection  is  to  be  expected,  iffC.  (Sj-c. 


p  Jtt  i> 


CHRISTIAN     LIFE 


CHAPTER    I. 

ERRORS     RESPECTING     THE     DUTY     OF     RELIGIOUS     PROGRESS 

NOTICED      AND      CORRECTED  ESPECIALLY       THE      ERROR 

THAT    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE,  HAVING    BEEN    BEGUN,    IS    AC- 
COMPLISHED. 

NoTHixXG  can  be  plainer  than  that  the  Christian  character 
is  a  thing  to  be  acquired  and  to  be  improved ;  yet  it  is  evident 
that  many  do  not  so  regard  it.  If  we  may  judge  from  their 
conduct,  the  number  is  not  small  of  those  who  esteem  it  some- 
thing which  belongs  to  them  just  as  the  body  does,  and  to  be 
kept  alive  and  in  health  just  like  that,  by  living  along  from 
day  to  day,  as  the  circumstances  of  each  day  may  suggest, 
but  not  to  be  the  subject  of  any  special  regard.  But  as  to 
being  every  dny  better  than  the  day  before,  as  to  being  more 
humble  and  charitable  this  year  than  they  were  last,  it  does 
not  enter  their  mind,  it  makes  no  part  of  their  plan.  They 
have  been  Christians,  they  say,  as  long  as  they  can  remember  ; 
they  always  believed  in  the  gospel,  and  meant  to  do  their  duty. 
But  they  do  not  know  more  about  the  history  and  founda- 
34 


398  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

tion,  the  nature  and  purposes,  of  their  religion,  nor  are  they^ 
in   any  respect   more  devoted.      Indeed,   when   one  thinks 
seriously  on  the  subject,  it  is  a  matter  of  amazement  to  him 
to  observe  how  stationary  good   men  are,  and  how  quietly 
they  content  themselves  with  being  so. 

It  is  not  so  in  other  matters.  We  look  around  us  on  the 
community,  and  we  see  it  in  a  state  of  commotion  and  ^- 
vancement.  Its  prosperity  is  a  wonder  tons:  and  that  pros- 
perity is  progress.  Every  one  is  pushing  forward.  Every 
one  is  eager  and  panting  for  success.  Our  young  men  rise 
step  by  step;  they  are  discontented  if  they  find  it  otherwise. 
Those  who  began  life  with  nothing  are  seen  in  a  few  years 
comfortably  living  with  a  family  around  them,  — then  enter- 
ing a  larger  dwelling,  supporting  a  more  extensive  establish- 
ment, and  in  various  expenses  evincing  the  advancement 
they  have  made.  This  is  common.  But  meantime  —  even 
if  they  account  themselves  Christians,  and  remember  that 
they  have  an  eternity  as  well  as  a  family  to  provide  for  — 
they  have  not  dreamed  of  exhibiting  any  proportionate  ad- 
vancement of  character ;  it  has  not  occurred  to  them  that 
their  piety  should  have  grown  with  their  estate;  that  their 
charities  should  have  been  as  much  greater  than  formerly 
as  their  income  has  become  larger;  that,  as  they  have  been 
rising  in  the  world,  they  should  have  risen  also  toward 
heaven.  In  the  eye  of  the  world,  they  are  better  dres.^ed 
and  better  lodged,  and  they  move  in  a  more  fashionable 
and  intellectual  circle ;  but  in  the  eye  of  God,  in  their 
preparation  for  heaven,  they  are  just  where  they  were. 
They  have  contrived  to  give  the  soul  just  food  enough  to 
keep  it  of  the  same  stature  —  not  considering  that  it  was  to 
grow  as  well  as  the  body  — not  considering,  indeed,  that  this 
eager  attention  to  worldly  good,  and  rapid  growth  in  eurthly 
prosperity,  have  very  probably  stunted  the  growth  of  their 
characters. 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  399 

How  salutary  might  it  prove  to  every  one  whom  Provi- 
dence has  blessed  with  an  increase  of  goods,  if,  at  every 
enlargement  of  his  style  of  living,  he  should  devote  one  day 
to  searching  into  his  spiritual  progress,  and  resolve  never 
to  erect  a  new  house,  or  introduce  a  higher  indulgence  to 
his  domestic  economy,  until  he  could  honestly  say,  that  he 
was  as  much  improved  in  character  as  in  fortune ! 

But,  alas !  tliis  is  far  from  being  the  way  of  the  world. 
Tlioy  are  satisfied  to  seem  to  themselves  no  worse  tiian  they 
were;  —  if  they  deeply  examined  themselves,  tliey  might 
discover  that  they  are,  in  fact,  much  worse. 

Amid  this  universal  and  earnest  struggle  for  the  outside 
life,  the  inner  life  is  neglected ;  and  very  good  men  are  en- 
tirely content  to  be  no  better,  who  could  ill  brook  to  be  no 
richer. 

Certainly  this  indicates  a  false  idea  of  the  true  object  of 
life,  and  a  very  imperfect  acquaintance  with  that  religion 
which  they  profess  to  have  taken  for  their  guide.  I  do  not 
treat  tiie  (juestion  in  its  reference  to  mere  men  of  the  world. 
On  their  jjrinciples  they  are  right.  With  a  worldly  man,  char- 
acter is  of  very  little  consequence.  If  he  be  not  dishonest, 
so  as  to  be  in  danger  of  the  law,  —  if  he  keep  a  decent  repu- 
tation for  fairness  and  tlie  social  virtues,  so  as  not  to  hinder 
his  success  by  becoming  obnoxious  to  others,  —  what  more 
can  he  need  ?  His  business  is  to  make  his  fortune  and 
enjoy  himself  more  and  more  every  year ;  and  this  he  can 
do  perfectly  well  without  being  a  better  man.  This,  there- 
fore, need  be  no  part  of  his  concern.  But  with  those  who 
profess  to  look  beyond  the  world,  to  whom  the  favor  of  God 
is  of  some  consecjuence,  as  well  as  the  opinion  of  men,  and 
who  soberly  believe  that  virtue  is  better  th:iu  wealth,  —  with 
such  as  I  am  now  addressing,  —  it  should  be  the  chief  con- 
cern.    Is  it  possible  that  they  can   have  adopted  Christ  as 


400  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

their  Master,  and  taken  his  religion  as  the  great  guide  and 
blessing  of  their  souls,  knowing  themselves  to  be  immortal, 
and  yet  be  satisfied  to  see  their  earthly  condition  prosperous 
while  there  are  no  signs  of  their  souls'  prosperity  ?  Surely 
the  last  must  be  their  great  anxiety  and  care,  or  they  are 
strangely  false  to  their  principles.  There  is  no  incompati- 
bility between  the  two ;  both  may  advance  together  ;  but 
to  strive  only  for  the  earthly  is  treachery  to  their  principles. 
Alas  !  then,  how  many  such  traitors  are  there  ! 

But  there  "is  another  class.  All  do  not,  even  in  this  pros- 
perous community,  succeed  in  their  anxious  efforts  to  ad- 
vance themselves  in  the  world.  Many  make  no  progress. 
They  gain  no  wealth,  they  never  enlarge  their  means  of 
living  and  enjoyment,  they  live  on  as  they  began.  Perhaps 
they  are  content  with  their  lot.  Many,  it  is  well  known,  are 
perfectly  so.  They  acquiesce  in  the  allotment  of  Provi- 
dence, and  quietly  sit  down  where  God  has  appointed  them. 
But  many  more  have  tried  to  rise,  and  in  vain.  Are  they 
satisfied  then  ?  Do  they  content  themselves  ?  Do  they 
make  no  effort  further  ?  Do  they  feel  no  regret,  mortifica- 
tion, and  longing?  Surely  not  so.  Waking  and  dreaming, 
they  are  haunted  by  the  restless  desire  and  the  unquenched 
hope  of  reinstating  their  fortunes.  And  yet,  though  they 
know  that  their  souls  are  equally  far  from  prosperity,  and 
that  they  have  made  no  improvement  in  religious  knowledge 
and  virtue,  it  does  not  make  them  uneasy ;  they  are  per- 
fectly willing  it  should  be  so.  They  are  quite  content  to 
find  themselves  no  better  Christians ;  but  they  cannot  bear 
to  find  themselves  no  more  wealthy. 

It  was  a  beautiful  wish  of  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved, 
when  writing  to  a  dear  friend,  "  that  he  might  be  in  health 
and  prosper  cvrn  as  his  snid  prospered."  I  fear  it  would  be 
thought  a  strange  wish  now,  even  amongst  those  who  esteem 


PROGBESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  401 

themselves  very  good  disciples.  They  would  uot  under.st.ind 
how  the  prosperity  of  the  soul  is  the  first  thing.  Many,  it 
is  to  he  feared,  do  not  even  place  it  second.  Business, 
money-getting,  is  first;  their  family,  second;  religion  is 
postponed  to  the  third  place,  at  least,  and  very  little  honored 
in  tiiat,  if  we  may  judge  by  its  advancement  in  comparison 
with  that  of  the  other  two. 

There  arc  undoubtedly  other  classes  to  be  found,  besides 
tiio.^e  whom  1  have  now  named.  They  need  iu)t  be  de- 
scribed. They  leave  but  a  small  number  to  be  found  scat- 
tered among  us,  here  and  there,  as  we  look  around,  whose 
business,  aim,  object,  is  the  growth  of  their  character,  who 
live  for  the  sake  of  the  soul,  and  who  evidently,  markedly, 
become  better  men  as  they  advance  in  life.  We  would  not 
be  cynicid  in  our  estimate,  but  none  can  look  around  on  so- 
ciety. Christian  society,  —  recollecting  with  what  capacities 
for  goodness  men  have  been  endowed,  and  what  induce- 
ments to  progress  toward  perfection  are  always  before  them, 
—  without  a  feeling  of  amazement,  mortification,  and  alarm, 
at  o!)scrving  how  few  are  growing,  or  striving  to  grow,  in  the 
virtues  of  the  Christian  life.  So  rare  are  such  instances, 
that  they  are  looked  on,  and  spoken  of,  as  bright  exceptions  ; 
and  a  measure  of  goodness  which  ought  to  be  that  of  every 
man,  nay,  which  all  acknowledge  to  be  still  far  short  of 
what  the  Christian  should  be,  is  described,  praised,  and  held 
forth  to  imitation  as  something  extraordinary  —  as,  indeed, 
beyond  what  men  in  general  are  expected  to  attain.  "  We 
are  not  to  i rprrt  to  find  others  as  good  as  he." 

This  defective  tone  and  condition  of  society  is  unques- 
tionably a  great  hinderance  to  those  who  are  young  in  re- 
ligion. It  presents  to  them,  on  tlieir  first  entrance  to  a  new 
principle,  instead  of  examples  tliat  stimulate  to  efilirt  and 
excellence,  and  raise  still  higlier  their  impressions  of  the 
34* 


402  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

purity  and  spirituality  of  Christian  attainment,  specimena 
of  lagging,  sluggish,  moderate  virtue,  which  countenance 
them  in  the  most  indolent  exertions  for  improvement.  As 
they  look  forward  with  the  glowing  mind  of  youth  and  the 
first  beatings  of  awakened  faith,  the  Christian  life  looks  to 
them  not  only  all  light  and  glorious,  but  of  a  strict  and  holy 
austerity,  and  a  scrupulous  purity  which  has  no  part  or  lot 
with  the  ordinary  follies  of  humanity  —  elevated  above  the 
world  by  a  taste  which  has  no  pleasure  in  its  perishing  pur- 
suits, and  a  habit  of  exalted  contemplation  which  dwells 
amid  things  unseen  and  eternal.  They  begin  the  race, 
therefore,  with  feelings  of  high  aspiration.  They  take  their 
place  among  the  disciples  with  a  romantic  and  earnest  ex- 
pectation of  finding  in  those  privileged  persons  something, 
they  know  not  what,  of  a  celestial  temper  and  beauty  :  they 
expect  to  be  incited,  cheered,  instructed,  by  the  very  con- 
tact, and  to  find  in  the  atmosphere  in  which  they  dwell  the 
radiance  and  perfume  of  heaven.  And  if  they  could  find  it 
so,  they  would  keep  alive  their  own  ardor,  they  would  per- 
severe to  realize  their  own  exalted  conceptions.  But  they 
find  it  otherwise.  The  image  which  they  had  conceived  in 
their  own  minds  of  what  the  Christian  man  ought  to  be  — 
an  image  whose  features  were  all  drawn  from  the  life  and 
teaching  of  the  Great  Master  —  is  not  at  all  realized  in  the 
worhl.  No!)ody  acts  up  to  it.  Nobody  seems  to  have  it  in 
mind.  The  common  standard  is  wholly  below  it ;  and  these 
young  beginners  find  themselves  alone,  with  an  idea  and 
purpose  of  a  perfection  which  the  more  experienced  smile 
upon  as  the  extravngant  dream  of  youth,  which  a  few  more 
days  will  show  tliem  to  be  impracticable  in  such  a  world  as 
this.  Thus  the  actual  state  of  religious  feeling  chills  the 
early  blossoms  of  their  religious  char;icters;  they  find  that 
much  less  ihun  they  had   imagined  is   thought  sufiicient  by 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  403 

the  older  and  wiser  disciples,  who  must  know  much  better 
than  themselves ;  that  it  is  by  no  means  requisite  to  follow 
Christ  so  nearly,  or  worship  God  so  exclusively,  as  they  had 
fancied  ;  they  discover  that,  in  fact,  they  have  made  as  great 
attainments  already  as  the  world  would  bear ;  to  proceed 
further  would  be  only  to  become  singular  :  so  they  change 
their  purpose,  and  remain  where  they  are ;  unwilling  to  be 
better  than  others ;  satisfied  with  a  measuje  which  seems  to 
satisfy  others,  and  glad  to  learn  that  the  great  work  they 
had  undertaken  is  so  early  completed.  And  thus  each  gen- 
eration does  its  utmost  to  repress  the  aspiration  of  the  next, 
and  to  keep  down  the  standard  of  virtuous  attainment. 

So  powerful  is  the  example  of  the  society  around  us,  and 
such  the  influence  of  prevailing  notions  to  modify  our  own, 
that  few  have  courage  or  perseverance  to  follow  the  inward 
suggestion  which  urges  them  to  rise  higher.  So  that  a  dis- 
tinguished minister  gave  it  as  his  earnest  advice  to  a  young 
friend,  not  to  allow  himself  to  be  ordained  as  pastor  of  any 
church  in  wliich  the  standard  of  life  was  not  very  strict  and 
high;  because,  as  he  urged,  all  experience  shows  how 
almost  impossible  it  is  for  a  young  minister  to  escape  con- 
forming himself  to  the  sentiment  around  him,  and  being 
shaped  more  or  less  by  the  popular  mould.  If  it  be  thus  to 
be  apprehended  in  the  case  of  one  all  whose  temporal  in- 
terests urge  him,  no  less  than  his  eternal,  to  rise  to  the 
MARK,  how  much  more  must  it  be  so  with  ordinary  men, 
wlio  are  less  protected  by  the  circumstances  of  their  posi- 
tion, and  the  daily  duties  of  their  calling. 

It  is,  therefore,  evidently,  one  of  the  first  duties  of  the 
young  Christian  to  settle  it  in  his  mind  that  he  has  only 
commenced  a  work  which  is  to  be  going  on  as  long  as  he 
shall  exist.  Every  thing  in  the  example  and  experience  of 
others  around  him  proves  how  necessary  this  i^,  for  it  proves 
how  easily  he  may  be  made  to  forget  it. 


404  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

There  are  also  some  mistaken  notions  respecting  religion 
itself  which  may  lead  to  the  same  error;  the  idea,  namely, 
which  so  readily  finds  a  welcome  in  the  mind  which  is 
glowing  with  the  first  happiness  of  its  early  faith,  that  its 
glow  cannot  fade  away ;  that  things  will  always  appear  to  the 
soul  just  as  they  do  at  that  divine  moment ;  that  the  new 
taste  is  fixed,  and  cannot  be  changed ;  that  it  will  take  care 
of  itself  Hazardous  and  unfounded  as  such  a  feeling  is,  it 
is  yet  very  natural.  It  belongs  to  all  strong  emotion  to  have 
faith  in  its  own  perpetuity.  The  affections  always  are  con- 
fident that  they  never  shall  change  ;  and  we  always  fancy 
that  the  grief,  or  love,  or  indignation,  which  fills  our  bosoms 
now,  can  never  fade  from  them.  When,  therefore,  we  are 
awake  to  the  vivid  consciousness  of  our  spiritual  relations, 
and  are  overwhelmed  with  those  various  and  mihgling  emo- 
tions that  take  possession  of  the  excited  spirit,  and  blend 
there  in  all  that  is  awful,  tender,  joyous,  and  serene  —  when 
we  are  confident  that  now,  at  last,  we  are  tasting  the  highest 
gratification  of  which  human  nature  is  capable,  that  now, 
at  last,  we  are  in  the  state  in  which  man  ought  to  be,  —  a 
state  in  which  things  appear  as  they  are,  in  their  true  rela- 
tions and  proportions,  and  the  common  things  of  the  world 
take  rank  among  the  insignificant  and  uninteresting,  —  we 
cannot  doubt  that  these,  the  truest,  will  be  the  lasting  feel- 
ings ;  we  cannot  conceive  it  possible  that  any  thing  on 
earth  should  ever  have  charm  enough  to  entice  from  this 
state ;  that  any  of  the  things  which  we  now  know  to  be  infe- 
rior should  ever  be  able  to  withdraw  us  from  what  we  now 
know  to  be  supreme.  This  is  the  hearty,  honest,  deeply- 
seated  conviction  within  us.  This  is  the  conviction  which 
occasions  the  well-known  confidence  and  presumption  of 
young  converts,  which  prompts  to  their  proverbial  forward- 
ness —  a  confidence  and  forwardness  often  attributed  to  un- 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  405 

worthy  motives,  and  spoken  of  to  their  discredit.  It  may 
not  be  creditable  to  them ;  yet  it  argues  nothmg  worse, 
perhaps,  than  self-ignorance.  They  do  not  know  the  evane^ 
cent  character  of  the  feelings,  the  deceitfulness  of  the  heart; 
therefore  they  give  way  to  it;  they  trust  themselves;  they 
spread  all  their  sails  to  the  wind,  as  if  it  would  never  change  ; 
they  fancy  themselves  established,  and  act  warmly  and 
boldly  as  if  established.  But  this  glow  is  necessarily  tran- 
sient  like  all  vehement  feeling ;  and  when  it  has  passed  away, 
they  have  no  abidi.ig  principle  of  life  to  take  its  place  and 
keep  the  work  in  progress.  Other  feelings  rise  up  in  the 
midst  of  the  world;  the  brightness  of  the  spiritual  light  fades 
from  before  the  eye  of  the  soul,  and  there  is  no  advance- 
ment to  a  higher  perfection. 

Let  no  one,  therefore,  from  the  strength  and  security  of 
his  first  affections,  allow  himself  to  rest,  as  if  the  work  were 
done.  It  is  but  begun.  Let  him  settle  within  himself,  deep- 
ly and  sternly,  the  persuasion  that  it  is  to  be  going  on  while 
life  lasts.  For  want  of  this  it  is  that  the  love  of  so  many 
has  waxed  cold,  and  that  so  many  who  put  their  hand  to 
the  ploucrh  have  turned  back.  If  you  would  persevere,  you 
must  un°derstand,  at  the  outset,  the  necessity  of  persever- 
ance. You  must  start  with  the  conviction  that  you  begin 
a  perpetual  progress. 

For  which  reason,  instead  of  looking  at  the  state  of  so- 
ciety, instead  of  conforming  yourself  to  the  model  of  those 
with 'whom  you  live,  study  into  the  nature  and  capacity  of 
your  soul,  your  destiny,  and  your  responsibility  ;  imbue 
your  mind  with  the  spirit  of  your  immortal  faith,  and  the 
influence  of  the  character  of  your  holy  Master ;  and  from 
the  promptings  of  a  soul  thus  filled  and  kindled,  act  out 
Christianity  for  yourself ;  —not  as  others  do,  nor  as  others 
expect  you  to  do,  but  as   this  state  of  mind   impels  you. 


406  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

There  is  no  true  and  safe  course  but  to  be  obedient  to  these 
suggestions  of  a  mind  wliicli  has  faithfully  studied  for  itself 
into  the  doctrine  and  temper  of  the  divine  life.  These  sug- 
gestions are  to  it  as  the  instinct  of  its  immortal  nature  — 
as  unerring,  as  safe,  as  the  instincts  of  the  lower  orders  of 
beings.  Man's  bodily  instincts  are  as  nothing,  for  his  bodily 
interests  are  of  little  moment,  and  in  pursuing  the;n  he  has 
no  need  of  an  infallible  guide.  But  the  interests  of  his 
undying  soul  are  of  infinite  consequence  :  in  his  search  for 
them  he  needs  an  infallible  guide ;  and  that  guide  he  has 
in  the  promptings  of  his  own  mind,  whenever  he  has  culti- 
vated it  with  the  deep  study  of  truth  and  faith,  and  steeped 
it  by  faithful  contemplation  in  the  secrets  of  divine  love  and 
infinite  purity,  and  brought  it  into  intimate  communion  with 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  If  you  have  truly  acquainted  your- 
self with  your  Master  and  his  revelation,  —  if  you  have  en- 
tered into  their  spirit  with  your  whole  soul,  —  then  act  your- 
seJf,  freely,  boldly,  and  you  will  not  know  what  it  is  to  stop 
short.     This  very  action  will  be  progress. 


CHAPTER    II. 

ERRORS  NOTICED  AND  CORRECTED,  ESPECIALLY  THE  ERROR 
THAT  THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IS  NOT  TO  BE  TAKEN  UP  EX- 
PRESSLY  IS    NOT    TO    HAVE    A    MARKED    COMMENCE.MENT. 

Bi'.sioES  the  causes  of  error  which  are  hinted  at  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  there  are  others  still  more  worthy  of 
consideration.     Of  these  I  do  not  know  that  there  is  any 


PROGRESS    OF    THE   CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  407 

more  common  or  more  detrimental  than  that  which  is  the 
subject  of  tliis  chapter.  It  is  an  error  which  arises  natu- 
rally from  the  circumstances  of  birth  and  education  in  a 
Christian  land,  and  from  the  idea  that  under  such  circum- 
stances the  Christian  character  grows  up  of  course,  just  as 
the  social  does,  and  perhaps  as  part  of  the  social.  It  differs 
from  that  before  mentioned  in  this,  that,  while  that  supposed 
the  Christian  character  something  to  be  formed  by  a  certain 
process  in  a  certain  time,  —  to  be  done  by  the  job  and  fin- 
ished at  once,  — this  supposes  that  it  is  never  any  thing  to 
be  taken  up  as  a  distinct  subject  of  attention,  or  to  be  made 
an  express  concern  ;  but  is  to  be  left  to  take  care  of  itself, 
under  those  influences  to  which  all  are  subjected,  and  be- 
neath which  it  will  grow  up  spontaneously.  This  is  a  com- 
mon error ;  it  infects  the  great  mass  of  nominal  Christians ; 
it  deceives  and  paralyzes  even  conscientious  men,  and  keeps 
them  from  all  progress  by  persuading  them  that  the  soul 
will  grow  of  itself,  as  the  body  does. 

This  error  is  so  widely  connected  with  misapprehensions 
respecting  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  religious  life,  that  it 
cannot  be  fully  developed  without  a  wide  discussion.  But 
it  is  of  less  importance  thoroughly  to  do  this,  than  to  exhibit 
the  error  itself.  It  has  no  doubt  been  fostered  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  axiom  has  been  received,  that  all  safe  prog- 
ress is  gradual,  that  whatever  is  violent  and  sudden  is  un- 
natural-and  unsafe  — an  axiom  true  in  itself,  when  rightly 
understood,  but  very  falsely  applied  in  the  present  instance. 
Is  not  the  progress  of  the  daij  gradual,  it  is  asked  ;  and 
the  progress  of  the  seasons  imperceptible  ?  Does  not  the 
seed  germinate  and  spring  forth  without  our  being  able  to 
detect  or  trace  it;  growing  night  and  day,  we  know  not 
how;  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  and  then  the  full  corn  in 
the  ear  ?     Are  not  all  the  beneficent  operations  of  Provi- 


408  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

dence  and  nature  thus?  —  never  rapid,  vehement,  instanta- 
neous, but  always  gentle,  quiet,  gradual  ?  And,  satisfied 
with  this  analogy,  we  sit  down  to  wait  the  advancement  of 
our  character,  just  as  we  wait  the  progress  of  the  season; 
as  if  we  had  only  to  sit  and  wait ;  to  do  nothing  to  hasten  or 
retard  it  j  •  as  if  its  course  was  onward  as  inevitably  as  fate. 
We  do  not  perceive  that  we  advance ;  but  no  matter : 
who  sees  the  sun  advance  on  the  dial-plate?  We  have  no 
consciousness  of  being  in  motion  ;  but,  then,  who  sees  the 
motion  of  the  planets,  or  the  increase  of  the  blade  of  corn  ? 
We  are  making  no  efforts:  certainly  not;  for  a  growth,  to 
be  healthy,  must  not  be  forced.  Who  would  have  the  sickly 
and  short-lived  produce  of  the  hotbed  1 

But  even  if  we  chose  to  follow  strictly  the  analogy  be- 
tween the  insensible  universe  and  the  living  moral  soul,  this 
mode  of  reasoning  is  unjustifiable.  If  we  do  not  see  the 
day  come  forward  with  our  eyes,  we  perceive  clearly,  after  an 
interval,  that  it  has  come  forward ;  and  though  our  keenest 
sight  does  not  detect  the  growth  of  the  plant,  we  yet  do  see 
that  it  has  grown ;  and  we  should  be  extremely  unhappy  if 
the  opening  dawn  should  become  stationary,  or  the  grain 
and  fruit  should  pause  in  the  process  of  ripening.  But 
those  of  whom  I  speak  feel  no  uneasiness  at  the  perception 
that  their  characters  have  become  stationary ;  they  are  not 
troubled  when,  at  the  greatest  intervals,  they  still  find  that 
they  have  gained  nothing.  All  is  made  quiet  in  their  con- 
science at  once  by  the  sovereign  pacifier,  "O,  we  are  not  to 
expect  great  results:  improvement  must  be  gradual;  the 
more  gradual,  the  more  sure." 

Has  not  this  lamentable  result  been  encouraged  in  many 
minds  by  the  expression  of  a  very  eminent  writer  of  great 
influence?  —  "that  our  Christian  congregations  contain 
two  classes :  to  the  one  must  be  preached  conversion,  to  the 


1*R0GRESS    OF   THE   CHRtSTlAN   LIFE.  409 

Other  improvement  "  —  an  altogether  just  remark,  which 
commends  itself  at  once  to  every  man's  approbation.  But 
how  easily  misapplied !  Every  one,  on  hearing  it,  bethinks 
himself,  of  which  class  is  he?  "I  do  not  need  conversion  ; 
I  have  been  religiously  educated ;  always  attended  church, 
always  read  my  Bible,  always  accounted  myself  a  Christian ; 
I  only  need  improvement.  My  case,  then,  is  safe ;  I  am  on 
the  right  side,  and  of  course  it  will  be  for  my  interest  to 
improve ;  in  fact,  considering  the  advantages  amidst  which 
I  live,  I  cannot  fail  to  improve :  'tis  not  in  the  nature  of 
man  to  live  under  such  excellent  preaching  and  with  such 
facilities  for  reading  and  worship,  and  yet  not  improve." 
Thus  perfectly  satisfied  with  his  situation 'and  with  himself, 
he  folds  his  arms  and  does  nothing.  The  current  floats  him 
along,  and  he  does  not  dream  that  it  can  be  to  any  other  than 
the  true  haven. 

If  I  should  address  such  persons,  I  would  ask  them  if 
they  do  not  presume  too  much,  when  they  thus  take  it  for 
granted  that  they  do  not  need  conversion.  Does  it  by  any 
means  follow,  because  they  have  been  educated  under  Chris- 
tian institutions,  that  they  have  availed  themselves  of  them, 
and  become  Christians  ?  Because  they  have  been  taught  to 
read  the  Bible  from  their  childhood,  does  it  follow  that  the 
spirit  of  that  holy  book  has  formed  their  characters?  Cer- 
tainly this  cannot  be  pretended.  One  may  be  brought  up  in 
the  very  recesses  of  the  sanctuary,  and  yet  be  as  corrupt  as 
an  abandoned  heathen  ;  may  believe  that  Christianity  is  from 
heaven,  as  the  Hindoo  believes  that  his  ancestral  faith  is 
divine,  and  be  in  heart  addicted  to  all  that  is  unchristian. 
History  and  observation  tell  of  but  too  many  who  have  con- 
tended for  the  faith,  and  yet  who  had  checked  no  desire, 
controlled  no  passion,  at  its  bidding.  It  is  not,  therefore, 
impossible  that  many  decent  men  may  have  been  brought 
35 


410  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

up  amongst  us  to  honor  Christianity,  who  yet  are  far  from 
being  imbued  with  its  spirit;  that  many  may  have  a  respect 
for  its  precepts  and  a  jealous  attachment  to  its  forms,  and 
yet  be  governed  at  heart  by  principles  which  it  would  disap- 
prove. Doubtless  there  are  many  such  :  they  are  willing 
to  count  themselves  its  friends ;  they  are  proud  to  number 
themselves  among  its  supporters ;  and,  being  thus  Chris- 
tians by  birth,  claim  the  right  to  be  esteemed  Christians 
indeed.  But  in  order  to  be  Christians  indeed,  they  must 
be  religious  men ;  and  religious  men  they  are  not :  they 
need  to  be  converted  to  the  influence  of  the  faith  they 
honor  ;  from  the  worldliness  which  governs  them,  to  the  per- 
sonal experience  of  the  power  of  the  truth,  which  as  yet  is 
a  dead  letter  to  them.  They  think  they  need  only  to  go 
on  :  alas !  they  have  not  yet  begun.  They  have  the  very 
first  step  to  take.     They  have  the  commencement  to  make. 

Is  it  not  to  be  feared  that  many  are  living  and  dying 
amongst  us  in  this  very  condition  ?  Is  there  not  a  quieting 
and  deceptive  influence  in  much  of  what  passes  for  religious 
sentiment  amongst  us,  producing  the  feeling  that  we  have 
all  begun  —  we  have  all  entered  the  path  of  life  —  we  have 
only  to  go  on  ?  But  it  is  not  true  that  all  have  begun.  How, 
then,  can  it  be  otherwise  than  dangerous  to  entreat  all  to  go 
on  ?  How  can  they  advance  if  they  have  not  commenced  I 
There  can  be  no  true  and  satisfactory  progress  unless  we 
are  sure  that  we  have  made  a  beginning,  and  a  right  be- 
ginning. 

Now,  the  great  error  is,  that  men  are  content  without  any 
proof  thdit  they  have  made  a  beginning.  They  are  willing 
to  assume  this  important  and  all-essential  fact  as  a  thing  of 
course. 

They  were  born  in  a  Christian  land ;  they  believe  Chris- 
tianity divine ;  they  are  pretty  good  men  ;  they  trust,  through 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE,  411 

God's  mercy,  they  shall  be  saved.  But  this  does  not  prove 
that  they  have  in  any  proper  sense  commenced  the  Christian 
life.  What  are  their  ruling  principles?  On  what  rest  their 
affections  ?  Where  are  their  motives,  desires,  and  to  what  are 
their  self-sacrifices  offered  ?  Get  an  honest  reply  to  these 
questions,  and  you  find  that  the  world  still  rules  them.  A 
faith  in  things  spiritual,  and  a  supreme  surrender  to  God, 
they  as  yet  know  not.  They  have  a  brg inning  yet  to  make. 
I  hold  it  to  be  clear  that  no  man  can  have  done  so  im- 
portant a  thing  as  to  resolutely  take  up  the  Christian  law  for 
his  guide,  without  a  consciousness  aflervvards  that  he  has  at 
some  time  distinctly  done  so.  It  is  a  very  momentous  act 
in  a  man's  life  when  he  assumes  the  obligations  and  respon- 
sibilities of  the  word  of  Christ,  and  says,  "  For  this  Master 
I  live  and  die."  He  must  know  that  he  has  done  it.  It  is 
not  a  thing  to  be  taken  for  granted  —  to  be  supposed.  The 
bearings  of  this  faith  on  his  daily  life  in  a  thousand  ways  — 
its  applications  to  his  temper,  his  thoughts,  his  will,  his 
habits  of  living  and  speech  —  are  too  direct  and  palpable  to 
leave  any  doubt  on  the  subject.  The  struggle  between  this 
spirit  of  allegiance  to  conscience  and  faith,  and  the  fleshly 
appetites  and  worldly  principles ;  the  trials,  and  falls,  and 
recoveries,  and  shame,  and  joy,  and  all  the  various  tumults 
of  mind  and  heart,  which  the  Christian  pilgrimage  implies, 
are  all  too  distinct,  too  deeply  felt,  too  strongly  marked, 
to  be  forgotten,  or  to^allow  room  for  conjecture,  supposition, 
or  any  testimony  but  the  heart's  own  consciousness.  Many, 
very  many,  have  been  so  situated  in  early  life,  and  have  been 
so  formed  by  influences  exclusively  of  the  world,  that  they 
can  at  no  time  come  to  a  Christian  life  without  most  con- 
spicuous and  absolute  change  —  a  disruption  of  ft)rmer  ties, 
a  more  or  less  painful  abandonment  of  former  habits,  a 
strange  and  entire  alteration  of  the  favorite  and  ruling  de- 


412  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE, 

sires.  Educated  as  most  persons  are,  it  is  impossible  that 
they  should  otherwise  arrive  at  the  Christian  life ;  and  this 
change  is  an  era  to  be  remembered.  It  leaves  deep  marks 
on  the  history.  And  as  for  others,  who  have  been  favored 
with  a  more  propitious  lot,  and  whose  minds  have  received 
the  sanctifying  influence  of  truth  from  the  cradle,  drinking 
in  divine  knowledge  with  their  daily  discipline,  and  imbued 
with  the  temper  of  Heaven  through  the  power  of  the  society 
and  teaching  of  their  early  guides,  —  they,  too,  cannot  have 
confirmed  their  early  impressions  excepting  through  efforts 
and  struggles ;  they  must  evidently  know ;  it  cannot  be 
left  to  them  to  take  for  granted.  They  may  have  the  most 
infallible  proof  that  they  have  actually  made  a  beginning. 

But  as  for  the  great  class  of  those  who  can  produce 
neither  of  these  proofs,  how  can  they  proceed  ?  They  are 
grossly  self-deceived.  Their  trust  and  hope  are  altogether 
without  foundation. 

No  wonder  that  they  are  content  without  progress.  After 
assuming,  without  evidence,  that  they  are  Christians,  it  is  a 
small  thing  to  add  the  assumption  that  they  move  while  they 
stand  still. 

Here,  therefore,  1  propose  to  my  readers,  that  they  insti- 
tute a  solemn  and  thorough  self-examination.  Let  each  in- 
quire and  know  whether  he  is  one  of  this  very  extensive 
class,  who  thus  easily  imagine  themselves  to  be  something 
when  they  arc  nothing.  If  he  has  never  yet  doubted  on 
the  sahjoct,  nor  rigorously  inquired,  he  has  reason  for  ap- 
prehension. Let  him  dwell  no  longer  in  uncertainty,  or 
content  himself  with  conjecture.  Let  him  ascertain  whether 
he  his  actually  made  a  religious  beginning.  If  not,  let  him 
waste  no  time  in  studying  how  to  make  advaiucmmt.  He 
has  an  earlier  and  more  important  work  —  to  remove  away 
all  the  heavy  rubbish  which,  through  his  self-deception  and 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  413 

long  blindness,  has  been  accumulating  about  him,  and  lay  in 
earnest  the  foundation  of  a  hearty  faith,  and  a  holy,  heav- 
enly character.  If  he  is  not  sure  that  he  has  already  begun 
the  Christian  life,  let  him  begin  now,  to-day,  with  a  prayerful 
determination,  with  a  devoted  purpose,  with  a  heartfelt  self- 
consecration  to  God,  and  Christ,  and  duty.  Let  him  leave 
this  great  matter  no  longer  in  suspense,  this  most  momen- 
tous question  no  longer  open,  but  let  him  bring  his  real 
character  and  his  hidden  motives  into  the  light  —  the  clear 
light  of  truth  —  by  taking  devoutly  and  resolutely,  the  first 
grand  step,  by  performing  the  initiatory  act  of  intelligently, 
distinctly,  and  with  a  single  heart,  dedicating  himself  to 
the  service  of  his  heavenly  Master. 


CHAPTER    III.      - 

ERRORS  NOTICED  AND  CORRECTED ESPECIALLY  THE  ER- 
ROR OF  THOSE  WHO  FANCY  THAT  THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE 
MAY    HE    SUSTAINED    WITHOUT    THE    USE    OF    MEANS. 

I  HAVE  endeavored  to  expose  the  mistake  of  those  who 
dream  that  the  religious  life  has  no  beginning.  I  now 
turn  to  those  who  fancy  that  it  may  be  sustained  and  sup- 
ported without  the  use  of  means. 

In  stating  their  error  thus,  thare  is  absurdity  on  its  very 
face,  so  great  that  it  may  be  supposed  impossible  for  any  one 
to  maintain  such  a  position.  And  pcriiaps  to  the  full  extent 
none  will  venture  to  maintain  it  in  terms,  though  we  certain- 
ly hear  language  wlWch  very  nearly  approaches  the  state- 
3.5  • 


414  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

ment  I  have  made,  and  daily  witness  conduct  which  is  con- 
sistent with  no  other  principle  than  that  which  such  a  state- 
ment involves.  In  fact,  it  is  the  tendency  of  the  specula- 
tions and  the  practice  of  the  day  to  make  light  of  forms,  to 
undervalue  modes  of  operation,  to  speak  of  times,  persons, 
places,  ceremonies,  as  unessential,  material,  instrumental, 
—  as  crutches  for  the  lame,  leading-strings  for  the  weak, 
guides  for  babes,  —  quite  necessary  to  those  who  are  so  far 
wedded  to  the  body  that  it  clogs  and  impedes  their  minds; 
but  wholly  unnecessary  to  the  soul  itself;  in  fact,  as  badges 
of  an  inferior  condition,  as  marks  of  spiritual  backwardness, 
as  the  remnants  of  an  earthly  dispensation,  and  relics  of 
the  infancy  of  our  race,  which  are  fast  becoming  unneces- 
sary in  this  enlightened  age,  and  which  the  truly  enlight- 
ened had  best  dispense  with  at  once. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  loose  thinking  and  talking  of  this 
sort.  It  is  founded  on  a  misapprehension  of  the  real  nature 
of  the  advancement  of  man  in  the  present  world  ;  as  if  cul- 
tivation and  religion  were  making  an  actual  change,  not  in 
his  condition  and  advantages,  but  his  very  nature;  relieving 
him  of  his  dependence  on  the  body,  the  senses,  and  the  ma- 
terial world.  Whereas,  evidently,  he  must  retain  still  his 
connection  with  them,  his  relation  to  them,  and  must  be 
affected  by  them  in  his  desires,  appetites,  habits,  enjoy- 
ments, character  —  must  act  through  them,  and  be  acted  on 
by  them ;  and  so  long  as  this  is  so,  it  is  perfectly  impos- 
sible that  he  should  be  able  to  maintain  a  purely  spiritual 
existence,  or  to  advance  his  spiritual  character  without  aid 
from  abroad.  While  this  connection  with  the  outward 
world  perpetually  operates  on  him  to  affect  his  temper  and 
distract  his  affections,  it  is  necessary  to  counteract  it  by 
ao-cnts  and  contrivances  which  also  operate  outwardly. 
While,  every  day,  appetite  must  be  indulged  at  stated  hours, 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  413 

business  done,  and  exciting  thoughts,  interests,  and  passions 
absorb  his  niiiid,  he  must  every  day  have  stated  means  of 
neutralizing  their  engrossing  and  infecting  power,  or  they 
will  obtain  the  mastery. 

How  it  may  be  wlien  the  soul  shall  be  separated  from  its 
present  connection  with  the  body,  we  do  not  know.  Per- 
haps then  it  may  go  on  a  course  of  holy  progress  without 
external  aid,  or  stated  help;  though  the  Scriptures  give  no 
representations  which  warrant  us  to  decide  peremptorily  that 
it  is  so.  Certainly  it  is  not  so  now ;  and  they  who  fancy  it 
to  be  so,  are  taking  the  sure  method  to  dwarf  their  own 
stature  and  chill  their  devout  affections. 

There  is,  undoubtedly,  a  distinction  to  be  made  between 
religion  and  the  means  of  religion  —  a  distinction,  the 
want  of  attention  to  which  has  led  to  great  abuses,  and 
been  the  parent  of  fanaticism  and  superstition.  Forms  and 
ceremonies  have  been  exaggerated  into  the  essentials  of 
faith  ;  opinions  have  been  made  to  take  the  place  of  charac- 
ter, and  days  and  observances  have  usurped  the  respect 
which  should  have  been  paid  to  righteousness  and  true 
piety.  In  order  to  avoid  this  error  of  times  past,  it  has  be- 
come a  favorite  notion  with  many,  that  religion  only,  should 
have  attention  and  honor  —  pure,  unmi.xed,  unaccotnpanied 
religion.  They  are  to  become  religious;  that  is  tlie  great 
end  ;  they  are  to  form  perfect  characters.  Religion  does 
not  consist  in  saying  one's  prayers,  attending  church,  olv- 
serving  the  Sabbath,  sitting  at  the  Lord's  table,  reading  the 
Bible:  these  things  are  not  religion.  One  may  do  all 
these,  and  yet  not  be  religious  —  men  have  done  all,  scru- 
pulously, and  yet  been  reprobates.  These  are  but  the 
means ;  and  if  one  be  but  a  religious  man  at  heart,  it  is 
of  no  consequence  whether  he  scrupulously  observe  these 
means  or  not.     Indeed,  he  had  best  avoid  any  approach  to  a 


416  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE, 

Buperstitious  regard  for  them ;  it  would  belittle  him ;  it  is 
best  to  have  a  great  deal  of  freedom.  One  should  not  be  a 
slave  to  certain  hours ;  he  can  pray  at  any  time ;  a  prayer 
is  just  as  acceptable  at  the  workbench,  and  in  the  street,  as 
at  the  altar  ;  and  every  day  ought  to  be  a  Sabbath;  one  day 
has  no  more  real  sacredness  than  another.  There  is  great 
danger  of  mistaking  the  means  for  the  end  ;  we  will  pursue 
the  end  only. 

Common  as  something  like  this  may  be  in  the  thoughts 
of  many  and  the  practice  of  more,  it  is  yet  wholly  indefen- 
sible as  a  matter  of  reasoning,  and  utterly  ruinous  when 
applied  to  practice.  Here  and  there  a  man  may  be  found 
who  can  live  on  these  principles  uninjured ;  but  they  are 
extraordinary  men  ;  the  great  majority  would  infallibly  be 
destroyed  by  them. 

They  lead  to  a  disregard  of  religious  services,  which  will 
extend,  in  too  many  instances,  to  a  disregard  of  religion  it- 
self, and  will  often  inevitably  cause  the  Christian  character 
to  fall  into  decay,  because  the  props  which  are  necessary 
to  support  it  are  removed.  So  serious  an  evil  deserves  to 
be  carefully  considered.  There  can  be  little  hope  of  gen- 
eral advancement  or  great  attainment  in  religion,  when 
such  opinions  are  prevalent. 

Let  it  be  considered,  therefore,  that  although,  abstractly 
and  strictly  speaking,  there  may  be  an  essential  distinction 
between  an  end  to  be  gained  and  the  means  by  which  it  is 
to  be  gained,  —  for  all  practical  purposes  there  is  no  differ- 
ence whatever.  If  the  result  be  desirable,  and  can  be 
attained  only  through  a  certain  process,  that  process  is  of 
precisely  the  same  consequence  as  the  result.  If  the  affair 
be  one  of  duty  and  obligation,  the  obligation  to  perform  the 
process  is  as  absolutely  binding  as  the  obligation  to  elfect 
the  result.     If  I  desire  to  hold  an  eminent  rank  in  society, 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  417 

if  I  wisli  to  be  a  promoter  of  human  gcwd  in  an  iniportant 
profession,  it  is  just  as  iniportant  that  I  should  pass  tlirough 
the  discipline  of  that  preparatory  education  which  fits  fur 
tlie  profession,  as  it  is  that  I  siiouhl  enter  on  tliat  profession. 
My  usefuhiess  and  eminence  depend  o(|ually  upon  both.  It 
is  not  enough,  in  order  to  the  arrival  of  a  steamship  at  a 
distant  city,  that  the  crew  be  at  their  posts,  the  engineer  at 
his  wheel,  and  the  machinery  all  in  beautiful  order;  the 
boiler  must  be  filled  and  the  fire  kindled  ;  and  he  would  be 
a  stupid  commander  who  should  slight  these  because  they 
are  oidy  means  —  who  should  say,  that  his  object  was  to 
arrive  at  the  city,  and  he  was  not  to  be  busying  himself 
about  these  little  preliminaries  to  progress.  Yet  it  would 
be  hard  to  understand  how  there  is  any  less  stupidity  in 
those  who  fancy  themselves  able  to  arrive  at  heaven,  while 
they  slight  the  appt)inted  means  of  proceeding  thither,  as 
wholly  secondary  atfiirs.  I  ask,  "  Are  you  a  student  of  the 
Scriptures?  Do  you  daily  and  statedly  pray?  Are  you  fond 
of  frequenting  occasions  of  religious  worship?"  Your  an- 
swer is,  "  O,  no  !  religion  does  not  consist  in  these  things. 
I  am  only  careful  about  the  great  end ;  that  is  all  which  I 
need  to  regard."  That  is  to  say,  so  long  as  you  are  resolved 
to  arrive  safely  at  the  end  of  your  journey,  it  is  of  no  con- 
sequence whether  the  water,  and  the  wood,  and  the  fire,  be 
applied  to  the  boiler  or  not!  "  But,"  I  add,  '*  one  would 
imagine  that  your  own  feelings  would  prompt  you  to  join  in 
these  religious  observances  and  acts  —  that  your  own  reli- 
gious state  of  mind  and  heart  would  lead  you  to  take  pleasure 
in  them."  *'  Why,  yes,  sonnfimfs,  now  and  then  ;  and  thru 
it  is  well  enough  to  attend  and  use  them.  But  unless  one 
happens  to  be  dispusid  to  engage  in  them,  it  is  not  worth 
while  to  do  so.  It  is  only  the  great  end  which  I  am  anxious 
about."     "  And  thus,"  I  reply,  "  caring  only  for  the  accorn- 


418  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE, 

plishmrnt  of  your  voyage,  you  have  no  rule  but  your  incH- 
nations  to  decide  when  you  shall  feed  the  fire  which  is  to 
carry  you  on." 

One  would  be  glad  to  ask  of  the  great  men  who  have 
blessed  the  world  with  their  light  and  action  in  any  depart- 
ment of  usefulness  —  especially  one  would  like  to  ask  of  the 
apostles  and  reformers  —  how  this  doctrine  would  have  op- 
erated in  their  case,  and  where  the  world  would  have  been 
if  they  had  been  beguiled  by  it — if  Paul,  instead  of  his 
journeyings  and  toils  that  he  might  preach  the  gospel,  and 
establish  and  organize  churches,  and  so  save  men's  souls 
and  extend  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  world,  had  thought 
within  hiuiself,  "  Preaching,  and  worship,  and  the  Christian 
community,  are  only  the  means  of  salvation  ;  they  are  but 
secondary  things  in  comparison  with  salvation  :  salvation, 
salvation,  that  is  the  great,  prime,  all-absorbing  considera- 
tion ;  and  why  should  I  be  wearing  out  my  life  on  the  mere 
means  ?  "  —  or  if  Luther  and  the  other  men  that  have  moved 
the  world  with  their  doctrine  had  sat  silent,  on  the  happy 
suggestion  that  ^>»rrrt/7«mo-  is  not  religion  —  religion  is  the 
great  thing  to  be  regarded  !  And  yet,  where  is  the  man 
who  can  show  that  it  would  have  been  more  absurd  in  them 
thus  to  have  forsaken  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
gathering  of  assemblies,  than  it  is  in  any  private  man  to  for- 
sake the  hearing  of  the  word  on  the  same  pretence  ? 

And  yet  there  are  men  who  practise  and  defend  this  un- 
speakable absurdity  !  They  think  themselves  good  Ciiris- 
tians,  and  yet  waste  the  hours  of  the  Sabbath,  are  slack  in 
their  attendance  on  public  worship,  almost  strangers  to  the 
Bible,  without  worship  in  their  families,  and  without  stated 
prayer  in  their  closets;  and,  if  yon  expostulate  with  them, 
very  soberly  reply,  that  these  things  do  not  constitute  reli- 
gion ;  they  care  only  fur  religion  itself    And  thus  there  is  not 


PftOGRESS    OF   THE   CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  419 

one  of  tlic  means  appointed  for  and  essential  to  religious  es- 
tablishment and  growth  wljich  is  not  put  by  on  this  plea. 

It  is  evident  enough,  I  tliiiik,  that  these  means,  if  not 
parts  of  religion,  are  yet  essential  to  it.  But  I  go  still  far- 
ther. I  ask  if  it  be  so  unquestionable,  as  appears  to  be 
taken  for  granted,  that  they  are  not  parts  of  religion.  Is  it 
so  clear  that  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  acts  of  devotion, 
and  attendance  on  the  ordinances,  are  not  essentially,  and  in 
their  own  nature,  parts  of  religion  as  well  as  means  ?  Let 
us  look  at  this.  What  is  religion  ?  Strictly  speaking,  it  is 
something  invisible,  intangible,  immaterial, —  which  has  no 
shape,  and  is  not  cognizable  by  any  human  sense.  Practi- 
cally speaking,  it  is  a  certain  character  —  that  state  of  mind, 
heart,  and  character,  which  become  the  relation  in  which  a 
man  stands  to  God.  Now,  I  ask,  what  is  that  state  of  mind, 
heart,  or  character,  without  the  expression  of  it  ?  Is  not 
the  expression  of  it,  properly  speaking,  a  part  of  it?  Can 
we  say  that  there  is  character  where  there  is  no  manifesta- 
tion of  it  ?  If  we  were  consulting  philosophical  exactness 
of  terms,  perhaps  this  might  be  disputed  ;  but  so  far  as 
regards  real  life  and  the  conmion  judgment  of  nien,  it  is 
doubtless  correct.  We  know  nothing  of  real  benevok-nce 
of  heart,  if  in  no  way  manifested  —  nothing  of  uprightness 
and  strength  of  character  —  nothing  of  intellectual  power  — 
except  so  far  as  rrprcsstd ;  and  this  expression  is  always 
regarded  as  part  of  the  character  itself;  it  is  the  character 
acting. 

Now,  religion  is  a  certain  state  of  mind,  heart,  and  char- 
acter ;  but  if  there  be  no  manifestation  of  this  state  in 
action,  neither  the  individual  himself  nor  other  men  could 
be  assured  of  its  existence  and  reality.  But  what  are  the 
expressions,  what  the  manifestations,  of  religion  ?  The 
most  natural,  perhaps  the  mo.st  spontaneous,  the  most  indu- 


420  PROGRESS    OF   THE   CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

bitable,  is  prayer.  It  is  the  expression  of  the  religious  heart 
to  its  God.  It  is  the  language  of  the  devout  mind.  It  is 
the  action  of  the  pious  spirit.  I  cannot  conceive,  therefore, 
that  any  one  should  esteem  prayer  simply  a  means  of  re- 
ligion. It  is  a  part  of  religion.  It  is  an  inalienable  con- 
comitant. And  it  is  represented,  throughout  the  Scriptures, 
more  frequently  us  an  essential  act  of  religion,  —  insep- 
arable from  and  inherent  in  a  devout  character,  —  than  as  a 
means  of  increasing  the  devotional  temper,  or  of  spiritual 
improvement. 

The  same  is  true  concerning  the  Christian  ordinances. 
To  express  faith  and  newness  of  spirit  by  baptism,  and  to 
comnmne  with  the  Savior  at  his  table,  are  in  themselves 
religious  actions.  To  read  the  Scriptures,  and  devoutly 
meditate  on  the  truth  of  God,  and  worship  in  his  house,  and 
listen  to  the  preaching  of  his  word,  are  religious  acts,  ex- 
pressions of  a  religious  character,  no  less  than  means  of 
increasing  in  Christian  knowledge  and  holiness. 

It  is,  therefore,  far  from  true  that,  in  neglecting  religious 
observances,  we  merely  postpone  the  means  to  the  end. 
They  constitute,  in  their  very  nature,  parts  of  that  which  we 
seek  to  achieve.  They  are  natural  expressions,  manifesta- 
tions, of  the  religious  character ;  and  one  can  hardly  be 
authorized  in  imagining  himself  to  possess  that  character, 
if  it  do  not  thus  display  itself. 

If  it  be  still  said  that  one  may  make  his  selection  from 
these  means,  and  use  those  which  best  suit  his  own  case  and 
satisfy  his  own  want,  it  may  be  replied;  Undoubtedly  he 
may  find  greater  edification  in  some  than  in  others,  and  to 
such  he  may  with  peculiar  interest  apply.  But  he  can 
hardly  think  himself  at  liberty  to  sllj:fht  any,  so  long  as  all 
have  been  appointed  by  God,  and  are  regarded  as  part  of 
man's  service  to  him ;  so  long,  too,  as  each  of  them  is  only 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  4'21 

another  mode  of  giving  expression  to  that  spirit  whicli  he 
professes  to  desire  to  cultivate,  and  which  he  ought  to  find 
pleasure  in  expressing. 

If  these  tilings  be  so,  every  man's  duty  becomes  plain, 
and  he  can  live  in  neglect  of  it  only  at  the  hazard  of  a  great 
absurdity,  which  casts  his  soul  into  fearful  peril. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  YOUNO  CHRISTIAN  PUT  ON  HIS  GUARD  AGAINST  THE 
HINDERANCE  TO  PROGRESS  WHICH  ARISES  FROM  DISAP- 
POINTMENT RESPECTING  THE  ENJOYMENT  OF  A  RELIGIOUS 
LIFE. 

Among  the  hinderances  against  which  the  young  Chris- 
tian may  need  to  be  put  on  his  guard,  we  may  mention,  next, 
that  arising  from  false  expectations  respecting  tlie  enjoy- 
ment of  a  religious  life.  The  opening  views  of  a  religious 
existence  are  like  those  of  youth,  bright  with  vague  antici- 
pations of  the  future,  full  of  gtiy  dreams,  romantic  and  vis- 
ionary expectations.  It  is  the  youth  of  the  soul,  excited, 
ardent,  confident,  and  painting  the  future  in  colors  too  uni- 
formly gorgeous  to  be  true.  Not  that  any  extravagance  of 
expectation  can  exceed  the  actual  happiness  which  the 
Cliristian  realizes  in  his  established  faith.  Young  Chris- 
tians do  not,  for  they  cannot,  expect  too  much ;  but  they 
expect — as  the  Scripture  says  "they  ask  —  amiss."  They 
err  as  to  the  nature  more  than  as  to  the  degree  of  enjoyment 
They  look  for  it  in  excitement,  in  strong  emotion,  in 
3G 


422  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

ecstasy,  in  rapture.  They  expect  to  be  forever  in  the  same 
glowing  frame  of  bliss  in  which  they' are  now,  while  the 
subject  is  all  new  and  their  feelings  all  fresh.  The  scales 
have  just  fallen  from  their  eyes,  the  light  has  broken  in  upon 
their  souls  for  the  first  time,  and  the  scene  that  bursts  upon 
their  view  is  that  of  Elysium.  They  have  no  idea  that  fa- 
miliarity can  ever  render  it  less  beautiful,  or  dull  in  any  de- 
gree the  emotion  with  which  they  gaze  upon  it.  But  it  is 
a  universal  and  inexorable  law  of  nature,  that  familiarity 
tames  the  passionateness  with  which  any  object  is  regarded. 
The  excitement  of  feeling  goes  down.  The  exaltation  and 
frenzy  of  the  mind  subside.  The  pleasure  may  continue, 
but  the  rapture  ceases. 

He,  therefore,  who  proceeds  to  cultivate  his  religious  na- 
ture under  the  expectation  that  it  is  to  yield  him  a  perpetual, 
sensible  joy,  is  sure  to  be  disappointed.  It  is  not  the  nature 
of  the  mind  to  be  capable  of  perpetual,  unintermitted  joy. 
In  all  cases  in  which  the  mind  is  wrought  up  to  a  high  pitch 
of  excitement,  one  of  two  consequences  always  results  — 
either  it  becomes  weary,  and  the  interest  of  the  subject  is 
worn  out  by  the  intenseness  of  the  action,  —  and  this  often 
happens  in  religion,  where  a  most  passionate  devotion  for  a 
season  ends  in  coldness,  indifference,  and  worldliness,  —  or 
else,  the  excitement  being  modified  and  controlled  by  reason 
and  principle,  the  mind  settles  down  into  a  quiet,  steadfast, 
gentle,  and  equable  condition,  without  ecstasy,  but  full  of 
content.  And  this,  too,  is  what  we  see  in  daily  examples  of 
the  judicious  and  confirmed  believers. 

Many  are  made  greatly  unhappy,  and  fall  into  grievous 
despondency,  for  want  of  duly  considering  this.  They  find 
erelong  that  their  frame  of  mind  sinks.  Not  only  have 
they  no  rapture,  but  they  perceive  with  horror  that  occasion- 
ally even  a  lethargy  of  feeling  comes  over  them,  as  if  they 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN'    LIFE.  423 

hud  fairly  exhausted  tlio  excitability  of  their  mind.  They 
read  and  pray  with  a  calmness  which  frightens  them — a 
calmness  they  in  vain  try  to  agitate ;  and  whereas  they  were 
shortly  before  lifted  to  the  third  heavens  with  delight,  they 
now  stand  unmoved,  as  if  the  very  pulse  of  celestial  life  had 
Stopped.  The  contrast  appals  them.  They  fancy  them- 
selves deserted  of  God  and  all  goodness.  They  feel  them- 
selves abandoned  and  lost,  and  are  ready  to  sink  in  conster- 
nition  and  despair.  They  had  imagined,  in  their  hours  of 
exalted  musing,  that  the  love  of  the  world  was  subdued; 
tint  the  power  of  its  fascination  was  gone;  that  its  follies 
and  lusts,  its  pride  and  pleasures,  having  been  seen  once  in 
their  true  light,  could  never  have  charms  for  them  again  ; 
and  that  the  sinful  feelings  they  had  formerly  excited  could 
not  be  excited  by  them  again.  But,  as  they  again  move 
about  in  the  actual  scenes  of  the  world,  they  find  it  far 
otherwise.  The  desires  and  appetites  which  they  supposed 
to  be  dead,  were  only  sleeping,  and  they  suddenly  wake. 
The  passions  and  selfishness  which  they  supposed  subdued 
spring  up  vigorously,  and  would  break  their  chains,  and 
clamor  for  indulgence,  as  before,  and,  perhaps,  in  some  un- 
guarded moment,  seize  on  their  gratification.  All  this  as- 
tonishes and  alaru\s  them.  They  were  not  prepared  for  it. 
It  is  wholly  unexpected.  They  find  themselves  deceived. 
They  know  not  how  to  meet  it.  They  are  miserable.  Their 
life  is  wholly  a  different  one  from  that  wliich  they  j)roposed 
to  themselves  —  a  life  of  watching,  self-denial,  and  anxiety, 
when  they  hid  been  looking  for  nothing  but  peace  and  joy. 
They  are  disheartened,  and  perhaps  abandon  the  path  which 
promised  them  pleasantness  and  peace,  but  has  yielded  them 
weariness  and  pain. 

It  becomes  important,  therefore,  that  the  beginner  should 
understand  the  nature  both   of  Christian  dutv  and  of  Chris- 


424  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

tian  happiness,  that  he  may  count  the  cost  before  he  begins, 
and  not  fail  through  false  and  unreasonable  expectations. 

Let  him  consider,  then,  that  Christian  duty  is  conformity 
to  a  law,  and  Christian  happiness  the  result  of  that  con- 
formity. This  law  governs  the  affections,  as  well  as  the 
conduct ;  determines  the  whole  state  of  mind  and  feeling, 
as  well  as  of  life ;  and  it  is  only  when  mind  and  feeling  are 
conformed  to  this  law,  that  the  man  is  in  the  way  of  Chris- 
tian duty,  —  only  then,  therefore,  that  he  is  to  expect  happi- 
ness. And  what  happiness?  That  which  belongs  to  the 
consciousness  of  having  done  duty  ;  that  which  grows  out  of 
and  appertains  to  the  state  of  mind  which  is  attained  ;  — 
and  that  will  be,  of  course,  satisfaction,  contentment,  rather 
than  ecstasy.  The  consciousness  of  being  right,  the  assur- 
ance of  the  favor  of  God,  —  these,  being  abiding  and  habitual 
impressions  on  the  mind,  are  likely  to  produce  a  calm  peace, 
rather  than  a  tumultuous  delight. 

Then  it  is  to  be  considered,  further,  that  religion  operates 
on  the  human  mind  upon  similar  principles  with  other  sub- 
jects, and  follows  the  laws  and  constitution  of  human  nature. 
If,  then,  in  respect  to  the  question  before  us,  the  analogy  of 
the  other  affections  shows  the  same  result,  we  ought  to  be 
satisfied.  And  undoubtedly  it  is  so.  The  religious  affec- 
tions are  kindred  to  all  the  affections.  That  love  which  is 
the  essence  of  religion  is  the  same  love  which  exhibits 
itself  in  the  various  relations  of  man,  and  is  the  source  of 
the  purest  and  strongest  joys  of  earth,  as  it  is  to  be  of  those 
of  heaven.  How  intense  and  fervent  the  love  of  a  mother 
for  her  child  !  What  sacrifices  will  she  make  for  it, 
what  toils  endure,  and  how  readily  does  her  heart  flutter 
and  her  eye  overflow !  Yet  there  are  times  when  that 
strong  affection  seems  dead  in  her  bosom,  and  we  have 
often  heard  her  say  that  it  seemed  to  her  as  if  she  had  no 


PHOGPESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  425 

feeling,  as  if  she  were  an  unnatural  creature,  from  whom  all 
natural  affection  had  departed.  Yet,  meantime,  unexcited 
as  she  is,  she  goes  resolutely  on,  discharging  her  maternal 
duties,  till  some  occasion  calls  forth  again,  the  floods  of 
tenderness.  Slie  did  not  blame  herself — we  did  not  blame 
her  —  for  that  habitual  traniiuillity  of  feeling,  for  that  tem- 
porary coldness ;  —  far  from  it.  The  cares  of  a  large  fam- 
ily never  could  go  on,  if  the  parent  were  agitated  always  with 
the  intense  feeling  toward  all  tiie  children  which  is  the  real 
measure  of  her  love  for  each ;  and  we  know  that  she  gives 
as  genuine  proof  of  her  affection  where  the  work  she  does 
for  then;  takes  her  thouglits  away  from  them,  when  she  for- 
gets them  for  a  season,  because  she  is  so  busy  for  their  good, 
as  when  she  overwhelms  them  with  caresses  and  tears. 

So,  too,  the  father  of  the  household.  He  leaves  them  in 
the  morning,  is  absorbed  witli  the  toilsome  cares  of  his 
business,  and  may  not  be  distinctly  conscious  of  a  thought 
or  emotion  going  back  to  them  during  the  day.  Is  it  proved, 
then,  that  he  does  not  love  them?  Time  was,  when  the 
image  of  her  who  is  now  the  mother  of  his  children  haunted 
him  like  a  dream,  mingled  with  all  his  thoughts,  could  not 
be,  would  not  be,  banished  from  his  mind  :  it  was  like  a 
light  about  him  wherever  he  went,  and  a  bliss  in  his  thoughts 
however  he  was  employed ;  and  thus  his  love  was  one  per- 
petual living  rapture.  Because  it  is  so  no  longer,  does  he 
therefore  love  her  the  less  ?  Nay,  he  loves  her  the  more,  — 
with  a  sober,  steadfast,  habitual  confidence  and  affection, 
which  has  lost  its  passion,  but  has  become  an  essential  por- 
tion of  his  being, —  intrudes  on  him  less,  but  in  its  calm- 
ness and  (juietness  blesses  him  more.  It  is  only  the  idle 
dream  of  romance  whicii  expects  the  rapture  of  the  lover  to 
be  perpetuated  in  the  sober  certainty  of  waking  bliss  which 
makes  the  happiness  of  home.  —  And  so  of  all  the  affections. 
3(3* 


426  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

The  religious  affections  go  by  the  same  law.  When  newly 
awakened  and  fixed  on  the  great  realities  of  God  and  eter- 
nity, they  engross,  and  agitate,  and  absorb  the  soul ;  there 
is  no  room  for  any  other  thought,  affection,  or  care  ;  these 
fill  and  consume  the  whole  being.  But  by-and-by  the  heart 
settles  into  a  state  of  tranquillity  ;  and  the  man,  occupied  in 
obedience  and  duty,  is  excited  less,  and  walks  with  his  faith 
as  an  old  and  familiar  friend. 

Let  it,  then,  be  no  discouragement  to  the  religious  aspirant 
that  familiarity  with  his  new  life  has  abstracted  something 
from  the  keen  relish  it  had  at  first.  Let  him  learn  to  find 
an  equal  satisfaction  in  the  moderate  and  unexciting  life  of 
tranquil  duty,  that  he  at  first  found  in  the  strong  emotions 
of  the  mind.  Acceptance  with  God  depends  on  the  heart 
being  right  with  him  ;  and  as  you  do  not  judge  of  the  right- 
ness  of  your  child's  affection  toward  yourself  and  the  other 
children  by  its  vehemence  of  expression,  by  its  being  easily 
called  out  in  tears  and  vented  in  outcries,  but  rather  by  its 
steady  and  unobtrusive  watchfulness  for  your  wishes,  and 
carefulness  not  to  offend,  and  fidelity,  and  kindness,  —  so 
believe  that  *lie  great  Father  judges  of  you,  and  approves 
you  none  the  less  because  the  strength  of  emotion  with 
which  you  first  came  to  him  has  subsided  into  an  equable 
confidence  and  uniform  obedience. 

And  here  I  cannot  refrain  from  saying  a  few  words  in 
relation  to  another  source  of  discouragement,  which  often 
operates  in  connection  with  that,  to  the  consideration  of 
which  this  chapter  is  especially  devoted. 

The  Christian  is  very  frequently  disheartened,  not  only 
at  finding  less  excitement  and  rapturous  enjoyment  in  the 
religious  life  than  he  expected,  but  also  at  not  discovering 
such  obvious  marks  of  progress  in  the  advancing  stages  as 
at  the  commencement.     But  it  is  a  very  important  truth  for 


PROGRESS    OP    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  427 

liim  who  is  going  forward  in  the  Clirislian  life  to  remember, 
that  the  growth  of  character  foUows,  in  many  respects,  the 
analogy  of  all  other  growtli.  In  its  beginnings  it  is  more 
perceptible  ;  its  progress  in  its  first  stages  is  more  striking  : 
an  extraordinary  difference  is  in  a  very  short  time  no- 
ticed, after  a  man  lia.s  positively  changed  from  worldliness 
to  religion.  But  the  succeeding  steps  become  by-and-by 
less  percejHihle ;  and  though  actual,  perhaps  equ;U  progress 
may  be  made  in  a  mure  advanced  state  of  the  Christian 
course,  yet  the  work  may  seem  to  be  almost  stationary.  An 
illustration  of  this  may  be  found  in  the  different  appear- 
ances of  motion  in  the  rising  and  the  meridian  sun  ;  the 
former  seeming  to  advance  with  rapidity,  the  latter  hardly 
to  move.  Or  take,  for  comparison,  a  work  of  art,  a  paint- 
ing. The  arti.st  takes  a  blank  and  unmeaning  canvass.  He 
sketches  the  outlines  of  his  l)eautiful  subject.  A  very  short 
time  suffices  to  exhibit  great  progress.  The  whole  form 
and  features  come  rapidly  into  view.  But  as  he  approaches 
towards  the  finishing  of  his  work,  he  labors  the  more  del- 
icate parts,  he  retouches,  refines,  perfects ;  but  it  all 
makes  little  show  :  in  truth,  there  may  be  more  and  more 
careful  study,  and  anxious  toil,  and  the  highest  efforts  of 
his  genius,  and  yet  the  amount  of  labor  and  thought,  and 
the  degree  of  improvement,  be  perceptible  to  none  but  a 
most  observing  and  practised  eye.  So  it  is  with  the  Chris- 
tian character  the  nearer  it  approaches  to  perfection  :  there 
may  be  great  watchfulness,  laborious  self-discipline,  toil  for 
advanccmetit,  and  a  perpetual  addition  of  those  delicate 
strokes,  those  hues  and  shades  of  spiritual  beauty  by  which 
perfection  is  attained ;  but  no  change  shows  itself,  mean- 
while, to  the  common  observer;  the  Christian  seems  to 
others  precisely  where  he  was  a  month  ago,  and  he  himself 


428  PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

may  be  dissatisfied  at  not  perceiving  any  obvious  marks  of 
growth  corresponding  with  his  arduous  labors. 

Let  the  Christian,  then,  not  be  deceived.  Let  him  be  sure 
that  he  judges  himself  by  a  right  standard.  It  is  true  that 
he  ought  not  to  be  too  easily  satisfied  of  his  improvement  j 
but  neither  ought  he  to  be  discouraged  through  an  irrational 
regard  and  judgment  of  his  moral  condition.  When  the 
oak  was  just  springing  from  the  ground,  and  rearing  its 
stem  in  the  increase  of  its  first  tender  season,  its  growth  of 
but  twelve  inches  above  the  soil,  whereon  nothing  but  de- 
cayed leaves  was  manifest  before,  appeared  conspicuous  and 
considerable ;  but  now  that  it  has  waved  its  branches  in  the 
sunsiiine  and  winds  of  threescore  summers,  and  sheltered 
two  generations  of  men  with  its  beneficent  shadow,  and 
nurtured  innumerable  tribes  of  living  creatures  in  its  kindly 
arms,  it  may  add  tlie  same  measure  of  increase  in  a  year 
to  each  of  its  hundred  gigantic  limbs,  with  no  perceptible 
eidargenient ;  its  real  growth  has  been  a  hundred-fold  what 
it  was  when  most  conspicuous  to  men,  but  no  one  observes 
or  appreciates  it.  So  it  is  with  the  Christian  character  :  the 
more  advanced  its  stages,  the  nearer  it  attains  to  perfection, 
its  actual  improvement,  though  greater  than  in  the  begin- 
ning, may  nevertheless  be  less  perceptible. 

In  view  of  the  discouragements  alluded  to  in  this  chapter, 
and  of  all  others  that  might  be  enumerated,  I  would  say  to 
him  who  has  really  entered  on  a  religious  life,  "  You  have 
taken  the  only  rational  course,  the  only  safe  course,  the 
only  truly  happy  course:  persevere  unto  the  end;  run  with 
patience  tlie  race  that  is  set  before  you  ;  fight  the  good  fight, 
keep  tiie  fiith,  lay  hold  on  eternal  life.  Light  is  sown  for 
the  righteous,  and  gladness  for  the  upright  in  heart." 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  429 


CHAPTER   V. 

CONSIDERATIONS  DESIGNED  TO  ASSIST  THE  CHRISTIAN  IN 
THE  SUCCESSFUL  USE  OF  THE  MEANS  AND  METHODS  OP 
RELIGIOUS    PROGRESS. 

In  order  to  the  successful  use  of  the  means  of  religious 
progress,  so  that  they  shall  truly  operate  to  a  religious 
growlli,  it  is  essential  so  to  employ  them  as  to  create  an 
equal,  healthy  development  of  the  character  in  all  its  parts, 
so  as  to  avoid  the  inconsistency  and  distortion  which  are 
the  consequence  of  too  exclusive  devotion  to  some,  and  the 
comparative  neglect  of  others.  A  perfectly  well  propor- 
tioned religious  character  is  rarely  to  be  found;  but  for 
that  very  reason  it  should  be  the  more  anxiously  desired. 

Character  is  constituted  of  the  state  of  the 'mind  and 
affections,  and  the  habits  of  life.  These  ought  all  to  be  in 
harmony  with  each  other,  —  directed  by  the  same  princi- 
ples, exhibiting  the  same  features,  wearing  the  same  com- 
plexion. If  thoy  disagree,  there  is  a  painful  discordance 
perceived;  something  is  wrong;  there  is  neglect  of  duty, 
blame  somewhere. 

Now,  the  means  of  cultivating  and  perfecting  the  right 
state  of  mind  and  affections  are,  primarily,  meditation  and 
prayer,  and  those  mental  exercises  of  contemplation,  self- 
examination  and  study,  by  which  the  soul  is  directly 
wrought  upon  and  raised  to  a  spiritual  fervor.  Thus  it  ap- 
proaches to  God,  cherishes  holy  and  benevolent  desires,  and 
comes  to  love  and  enjoy  the  things  that  are  unseen  and 
eternal.  And  when,  from  the  seasons  of  contemplation  and 
thought,  the  man  goes   into  the  scenes  of  active  life,  he 


430  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

carries  with  him  this  propensity  to  goodness,  these  desires 
to  do  well.  He  goes  with  a  mind  imbued  with  the  senti- 
ment of  devotion,  and  the  spirit  of  dutifulness. 

Thus  far,  well.  But  the  character  is  not  yet  complete : 
the  habits  of  his  active  life  make  part  of  it.  And  what  are 
they?  Do  they  correspond  with  this  internal  frame?  Are 
they  in  harmony  with  these  principles  and  sentiments  ? 

We  are  ready  at  first  to  ask,  "  How  can  they  be  otherwise  ?  " 
But  we  are  soon  reminded  that  it  is  often  even  so.  It  is 
common  to  witness  lamentable  inconsistencies  between  the 
feelings  and  the  conduct.  Some  men  appear  to  live  two 
lives.  They  seem  to  have  two  souls.  In  private  thought 
and  in  familiar  converse  they  are  devout  men.  Their  sen- 
sibilities are  quick ;  their  emotions  are  strong ;  their  sense 
of  God  lively ;  and  they  greatly  enjoy  their  seasons  of  devo- 
tion and  reading.  But  in  the  routine  of  life  they  are 
worldly,  grasping,  self-indulgent,  devoted  to  gain,  neglectful 
of  trusts  and  duties,  and  far  inferior  to  many  who  have  no 
religious  sensibility,  who  find  little  enjoyment  in  retirement 
and  reflection,  but  who  have  accustomed  themselves  to  the 
most  scrupulous  fidelity  in  every  passing  hour  of  social  life. 

It  is  to  be  with  you,  therefore,  a  matter  of  study  and 
effort  to  carry  the  sentiment  of  the  closet  into  action.  The 
life  of  contemplation  must  not  contradict  the  life  of  action. 
It  is  but  partially  that  character  is  formed  which  is  formed 
only  by  thinking,  musing,  and  purposing.  It  wants  the 
completeness  of  active  habits.  It  wants  the  test  which  is  to 
be  found  only  in  life.  It  wants  the  principle  of  growth  which 
can  be  found  only  in  action.  And  this  is  what  is  particu- 
larly to  be  considered  in  this  connection  —  action  is  an 
essential  and  all-important  means  of  religious  groirtli ;  so 
much  so,  that  even  the  contemplative  graces,  the  virtues  of 
the  mind,  true  affection,  exalted  principle,  benevolent  dis- 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  431 

positions,  —  which  wc  are  ready  to  believe  thrive  best  iu 
solitude;    to    cultivate  which,  multitudes  have  shut   them- 
selves out  from  the  world,  that  they  might  have  nothing  to 
do  but  to  meditate,  read,  and  pray,  —even  these  fail  of  their 
true    perfection   unless  quickened   and    ripened  by    action. 
For  consider  a  moment.     When  the  mind  is  thus  excited 
and  glowing  with  divine  truth  and  virtuous  thoughts,  is  it 
not  all  so  much  impulse  to  do  something  1     Does  not  the 
desire  spring  up  spontaneously,  prompting  to  act,  —  that  is, 
to  express  itself?     But  there  is  no  opportunity  to  act,  and 
the  impulse  is  denied.     It  is  excited  again,  and  again  de- 
nied.    What  is  the  consequence  ?     It  is  enfeebled.     It  be- 
comes less  and  less  strong.     It  fades  and  dies  from  the  soul. 
Generous  impulses,  not  acted  upon,  perish  ;  the  soul   loses 
its  sensibility,  becomes  callous.     It  has  long  been  a  familiar 
accusation  against  a  certain  sort  of  sentimental  reading,  that 
it  tends  to  consume  and  waste  the  sympathies,  and  paralyze 
the  affections,  by  highly  exciting  them,  but  allows  them  not 
expression  in  action,  awakening  the  impulse,  but  refusing  to 
gratify  it.     It   is  equally  the  case  with  all  religious   affec- 
tions.    And  it  is  easy  to  understand  how  they  who  trust  to 
them  as  if  sufficient,  and  take  no  pains  to  carry  them  out  in 
act,   may  come  to    exhibit    two    distinct    characters  —  ele- 
vated thought  and  glowing  feeling,  but  selfish  indolence  of 
life  and  cold  inactivity. 

Consider,  therefore,  that  action  is  an  essential  means  of 
religious  growth.  Follow  out  the  highest  impulses  of  your 
mind.  Obey  the  suggestions  of  your  conscience.  Never 
deny  the  religious  promptings  of  your  feelings.  Then  you 
will  establish  the  dominion  of  principle,  the  supremacy  of 
conscience.  Then  all  good  feelings,  having  received  their 
natural  and  intended  gratification,  will  be  encouraged  and 
strengthened,  because  they  have  had  th^r  legitimate  ex- 
ercise. 


432  PROGRESS    OF   THE   CHRISTIAN   LIFE, 

Remarks  to  the  same  purpose  may  be  made  respecting 
the  relation  wJiich  subsists  between  2)rincipk  and  habit. 
Habit  is  a  thing  of  tremendous  power  :  it  is  sometimes  om- 
nipotent in  man  ;  and  it  is  of  the  greatest  consequence  that 
its  energies  be  as  much  as  possible,  and  as  easily  as  possi- 
ble, secured  on  the  side  of  virtue.  It  may  be  the  greatest 
helper  or  the  greatest  hinderance  to  improvement.  It  was 
intended  to  be  the  former ;  and  yet  to  how  many,  through 
life,  does  it  prove  the  latter  ?  In  how  many  men  does 
virtue  make  toilsome  growth,  because  clogged,  thwarted, 
depressed,  by  unfortunate  habits  !  —  habits  formed  in  early 
life,  established  in  the  flesh,  rooted  in  the  affections,  woven 
into  the  daily  routine  of  conduct,  till  they  become  a  part  of 
the  very  nature ;  and  the  {X)or  wretch  whom  they  enthral  is 
bound  down  to  a  miserable  insignificance  of  character,  and 
yet  is  wholly  unaware  of  their  deleterious  predominance. 
They  are  habits,  for  example,  of  luxurious  living,  of  per- 
petual personal  indulgence,  of  slothfulness,  of  mental  inac- 
tion ;  they  are  around  him  like  a  heavy  and  deadening 
atmosphere,  through  which  his  spirit  has  to  make  its  way 
upward,  and  by  which  its  flight  is  perpetually  retarded.  It 
has  always  been  so,  and  he  does  not  know  it,  or,  if  he  knows 
it,  how  difficult  to  enforce  the  remedy  !  But  in  most  in- 
stances, he  has  no  conception  of  the  true  nature  of  the  evil 
which  hinders  him ;  is  not,  perhaps,  even  aware  of  his 
grievous  want  of  alacrity  and  progress  —  like  the  perpetual 
invalid,  who  has  borne  about  with  him  from  time  immemo- 
rial a  seated  disorder  which  enfeebles  him,  but  has  no  vifH 
lent  symptoms,  and  who  still  engages  in  all  the  general 
duties  of  life,  —  without  the  vigor  and  delight  that  other 
men  know,  —  but  with  all  the  vigor  and  delight  that  he  ever 
knew,  and  therefore  without  any  consciousness  of  the  extent 
of  Lis  own  deficiency  ;  and  who  never  can  be  conscious  how 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  433 

far  he  is  below  the  vigor  and  .spirits  of  other  men,  except  by 
being  delivered  from  his  aihnent  and  made  like  other  men. 
So  is  it  with  him  whose  moral  power  is  palsied  by  the  un- 
propitious  habits  I  have  referred  to :  he  never  can  know 
the  degree  in  which  they  are  an  injury  to  him,  until,  having 
thrown  them  off,  he  sees  how  rapidly  he  rises  without  them. 

There  is  the  greatest  reason,  then,  that  one  should  strictly 
examine  himself  in  this  respect ;  that  he  may  not  be  de- 
pressed forever  by  circumstances  in  his  modes  of  life,  of 
whose  injurious  influence  he  is  ignorant,  and  which  he  might 
counteract  if  he  knew  them. 

But  could  he  counteract  them?  It  will  not  do  to  answer, 
No;  and  yet  the  difficulty  is  in  many  cases  so  all  but  in- 
superable, that  we  are  ready  to  understand  in  its  literal 
sense  the  words  of  the  prophet,  and  believe  that  the  under-, 
taking  is  as  desperately  hopeless  as  that  of  changing  the 
leopard's  spots,  and  the  Ethiopian's  skin.  To  take  the 
most  familiar  example  :  there  is  the  drunkard.  He  con- 
tinues such  against  his  own  will,  in  spite  of  his  own  resolu- 
tions, in  contradiction  to  his  own  interest,  tears,  professions, 
purposes,  principles.  His  bad  habit  is  but  the  type  of  all 
bad  habits ;  a  little  more  desperate,  perhaps,  because  it  has 
worked  itself  into  every  fibre  of  the  body,  and  made  its  grat- 
ification to  be  clamored  for  by  every  organ  and  function, 
every  muscle,  sense,  and  nerve ;  but  all  bad  habits,  in  their 
place,  exercise  the  same  insane  dominion.  Sloth  —  is  not 
the  man  ashamed  of  it  ?  does  he  not  make  vows  against  it  ? 
does  he  not  mourn  at  the  ruin  and  disgrace  it  entails  upon 
him?  and  yet  he  is  slothful  still.  Ill-temper  —  does  not 
the  passionate  mother,  whose  bursts  of  anger  lead  her  to  ill- 
treat  the  child  that  slie  loves,  blush  at  her  own  shame,  and 
condemn  herself  with  bitterness  and  tears  ?  and  yet  to- 
morrow the  passion  is  her  master  again.  Procrastination  — 
37 


434  PKOGEESS    OF    THE    CHBISTIAN    LIFE, 

with  what  keen  anguish,  with  what  abiding  sense  of  degra- 
dation, with  what  remorse  for  friends  neglected,  duties 
omitted,  precious  opportunities  of  usefuhiess  passed  br, 
and  occasions  of  honor  and  improvement  lost  forever,  — 
with  what  compunction  and  self-condemnation,  with  what 
torment  of  uniutermitting  self-dissatisfaction,  —  does  that 
inexplicable  habit  pursue  its  poor  deluded  victim!  And 
yet  remorse  and  shame,  and  a  thousand  injurious  results, 
and  the  appeal  even  of  sober  principle,  are  vain.  He  still 
submits  to  his  master,  and  will  be  wiser  to-morroic.  Other 
instances  any  one  can  add.  And  they  suggest  the  fearful 
question,  which  almost  staggers  our  hope  as  we  reply  to  it 
—  whether,  in  sober  truth,  a  confirmed  ill  habit  be  not  in- 
curable, and  whether  virtue  have  any  prospect  of  gaining 
in  the  conflict. 

The  best  answer  is  found  in  the  appeal  to  opposite  facts. 
The  worst  habits  in  the  most  desperate  cases,  and  under 
the  most  unpromising  circumstances,  have  been  corrected. 
The  history  of  the  Christian  religion  is  filled  with  examples. 
It  has  shown  its  divine  power  in  these  triumphs,  and  proved, 
by  the  wonderful  trophies  of  its  grace,  in  the  amazing  con- 
versions from  sin  which  it  has  wrought,  that  however  des- 
perate may  seem  to  be  the  struggle  between  principle  and 
habit,  vet  the  good  is  the  stronger,  and  must  prevail  in  the 
end,  whenever  it  is  faithfully  and  perseveringly  supported. 

But  how  much  faith  and  what  long  perseverance  it 
demands  ! 

From  these  extreme  cases,  then,  the  Christian,  who  is 
seeking  improvement,  must  take  both  a  warning  and  en- 
couragement —  a  learning  that  he  examine  his  condition, 
and  be  fully  acquainted  with  every  circumstance  in  his 
modes  of  life  which  threatens  this  ruinous  ascendency  over 
his   principle ;    and    an    encouragement    that,  if  he    detect 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  435 

any  which  is  interwoven  with  his  whole  being,  so  that  to 
part  with  it  is  like  parting  with  a  right  hand  or  right  eye, 
he  yet  i*-  able  to  do  it,  and  to  enjoy  the  happiness  of  de- 
liverance. 

He  is  especially  to  learn  the  great  duty  of  seeing  to  it, 
from  the  first,  that  all  his  personal  and  social  habits,  his  dis- 
position of  time,  the  order  of  his  affairs,  the  customs  of  his 
daily  life  and  business,  be  such  as  to  facilitate  his  virtuous 
purposes,  —  such  as  to  make  devotion  and  religion  easy  to 
him,  —  such  as  to  make  holy  thoughts  and  benevolent 
actiohs  always  in  place,  never  incongruous,  never  irksome, 
because  evidently  in  the  icay  of  other  affairs.  By  this 
method,  he  should  give  to  goodness  the  fairest  chance  of 
obtaining  a  complete  ascendency  over  him.  Principle,  find- 
ing all  the  habits  of  life  and  mind  congenial,  would  thrive, 
and  strengthen,  and  assume  the  complete  masterr. 

To  make  this  yet  the  more  sure,  let  him  take  pains 
directly  to  aid  and  encourage  his  principle;  not  only  by 
bringing  it  forward  and  making  it  active  on  great  emer- 
gencies, but  by  allowing  it,  nay,  calling  on  it,  to  exert 
itself  constantly ;  giving  it  small  tasks ;  cheering  it  by  the 
pleasure  of  small  triumphs;  and,  in  a  word,  by  makincr  even 
those  lesser  offices  of  duty  and  kindness,  —  which  other 
men  do  of  course,  and  without  thinking,  — by  makincr  even 
them  matters  of  principle,  —  turning  them  into  thoughtful 
acts  of  religious  obedience,  doing  them  because  thev  are 
consonant  to  faith,  and  are  suitable  to  a  spiritual  and 
holy  nature  —  whether  he  eats  or  drinks,  or  whatever  he 
does,  doing  all  to  the  glory  of  God,  as  to  the  Lord,  and  not 
to  men.  In  this  way,  the  full  power  of  habit  and  all  its 
noblest  energies  may  be  enlisted  on  the  side  of  his  im- 
provement. Because  principle,  being  often  called  into 
action,   and    being  made  the  supreme  decidinsr  authority, 


436  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

more  frequently  than,  any  thing  else,  the  habit  of  acting 
from  principle  will  become  stronger  than  any  other  habit  J 
will  overcome,  suppress,  exclude  every  hostile  habit :  the 
opposition  between  principle  and  habit,  which  once  so  pal- 
sied the  purpose  and  neutralized  the  efforts  of  virtue,  will 
have  ceased;  and  the  forces  once  antagonistic,  having 
become  united  in  the  alliance  of  truth,  having  become  in 
fact  one,  there  can  be  no  longer  any  serious  impediment  to 
the  onward  progress  of  the  soul.  Being  made  free  from  sin, 
ye  will  become  servants  to  God,  and  have  your  fruit  unto 
holiness. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

MAXIMS    ON    WHICH    THE     EXPECTATION     OF    RELIGIOIS    PROG- 
RESS  IS    TO    BE    BUILT. 

Let  us  suppose  that  the  low  views  and  the  erroneous 
principles  on  which  the  Christian  life  is  too  frequently 
made  to  proceed  are  set  aside.  We  next  go  on  to  state 
the  maxims  on  which  the  expectation  of  Christian  progress 
must  be  built. 

And,  first  of  all,  it  is  evident  that  there  must  he  a  begin- 
ning. There  is  no  such  thing  as  setting  out  in  the  midst. 
There  is  a  first  step  in  every  journey ;  there  is  the  com- 
mencement of  life  in  every  germ.  The  religious  life  of  the 
soul  can  form  no  exception  :  it  must  have  a  first  step,  a 
commencement.  Define  it  as  you  please,  —  let  it  be  the 
act  of  the  human  reason  alone,  —  let  it  be  the  moral  char- 
acter as  e.xhibited  in  daily  life,  —  let  it  have  no  authority  or 


PKOGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  437 

guide  but  tlic  individual  judgmciit  and  will ;  still  there 
must  be  a  beginning  somewhere,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
the  individual  who  exercises  the  judgment  and  will  has  a 
beginning;  so  that  no  one,  by  adopting  a  low  idea  of  the 
nature  of  the  religious  life,  can  thereby  escape  the  obliga" 
tion  to  ascertain  whether  he  have  started  on  the  true  career, 
nor  assume  that  he  came  into  it  as  a  matter  of  course  when 
he  came  into  the  world.  For  into  wliat  did  he  then  come? 
Into  those  very  hal)its  of  decent  living  which,  in  his  view, 
are  the  Christian  life  ?  Surely  not.  Those  habits  were 
formed  at  a  tiuie  when  he  had  power  to  form  the  opposite 
habits;  when  he  had  the  opi)ortunity  to  <Iccide  for  himself 
which  he  would  adopt;  and  when,  frt)m  some  motive  or 
other,  he  did  adopt  the  better  rather  than  the  worse.  If  he 
claims  that  these  should  satisfy  his  conscience,  then  he  must 
be  able  to  show  that  he  adopted  them  of  good  intention, 
that  he  formed  the  purpose  to  possess  and  maintain  this 
character.  Either  he  formed  the  purpose,  or  he  did  not 
form  it :  if  he  never  formed  the  purpose,  but  is  what  he 
is  by  pure  accident,  then,  of  course,  he  will  not  pretend  to 
aiiv  more  rirtur  than  if,  by  a  similar  accident,  he  had  be- 
come any  other  character;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  if  he 
formed  the  purpose  and  pursued  it  by  resolute  forethought 
and  plan,  then  he  made  a  beginning.  Therefore,  nothing 
can  be  more  absurd  than  the  idea  so  cotnmonly  and  un- 
thinkingly held  by  men,  that  they  ar^  in  the  midst  of  their 
religious  progress,  when  they  never  formed  a  distinct  in- 
tention of  pursuing  it,  and  cannot  prove  that  they  ever  laid 
an  express  plan  in  relation  to  it. 

Now,  if  this  be  true   in  regard  to  that  low  idea  of  the 
Christian  life  just  referred  to,  h.w  much  more  is  it  true  of 
that  correct  and   elevated    idea  which  rises  beyond  the  de- 
cencies of  external   morals,  to   the  spiritual    purity    of  the 
37* 


438  PROGRESS    OP    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

affections,  companionship  with  Christ,  and  a  universal  holi- 
ness. This  absolute  and  express  devotion  to  things  invis- 
ible and  eternal,  this  perpetual  and  supreme  reference  to 
the  spiritual,  is  not  a  state  of  mind  which  grows  up  spon- 
taneously, which  starts  to  being  of  itself,  out  of  the  incum- 
brances and  occupations  of  this  visible  state  ;  —  it  must  be 
the  result  of  effort,  the  effect  of  design.  No  man  can  have 
thus  gained  the  mastery  over  the  sensible  present  without 
having  intended  it  and  labored  for  it :  he  could  not  do  this 
without  fixing  a  mark  on  that  era  of  his  life ;  without  being 
able  lo  go  back  and  say  that  then  he  made  a  beginning ; 
not  perhaps  at  such  a  day  or  hour,  or  even  absolutely  such 
a  year ;  but  certainly  that  at  such  a  period  of  life  he  took  a 
decided  stand,  and,  by  some  process  of  mind  more  or  less 
protracted,  came  to  the  express  understanding  with  himself 
that  he  was  bound  by  religious  obligations. 

This  is  the  first  element  in  the  religious  life  —  this  set- 
tled purpose  of  soul,  this  distinct,  acknowledged,  cherished 
intention  and  plan  to  live  for  heaven.  He  that  cannot 
convict  himself  of  having  deliberately  formed  such  a  pur- 
pose, who  is  not  conscious  of  having  meditated  and  acted 
upon  such  a  plan,  talks  idly  when  he  asserts  that  he  is  in 
the  midst  of  a  Christian  course :  He  deceives  himself  He 
wants  the  first  element  of  the  religious  life. 

Next  to  this  purpose,  religious  progress  demands  effort. 
The  purpose  must  not  die  in  inaction ;  it  must  not,  as,  alas ! 
is  too  frequently  the  case,  waste  itself  in  reverie  and  musing. 
That  dreamy  state  of  the  mind,  which  loves  to  dwell  in 
contemplation,  —  to  sit  with  the  eyes  half  closed  and  gaze 
on  the  visions  of  glory  which  the  fancy  brings  before  it,  — 
to  think  of  the  admirable  things  that  may  be  done,  and  the 
grand  designs  which  it  would  be  delightful  to  accomplish, — 
is  an  unprofitable  state,  and  does  little  to  advance  the  char- 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 


439 


acter.  It  is  likely  to  enervate  rather  than  to  improve  it. 
No  purpose  is  of  any  value  which  does  not  ripen  into 
action ;  and  the  ever-present  purpose  of  Christian  progress 
is  nought,  unless  accompanied  by  ever-active  effort. 

Inaction  is  the  death  of  all  virtue,  the  palsy  of  the  char- 
acter. It  accounts  satisfactorily  for  the  backwardness  and 
meanness  of  Christian  men  in  Christian  attainments.  One 
might  almost  fancy,  from  the  sluggishness  with  which  men 
lu.Ul  their  faith,  that,  in  adopting  the  gospel  as  their  hope 
and  rule,  they  had  simply  placed  themselves  on  board  some 
convenient  vessel  sent  for  their  deliverance,  and  now  were 
quietly  to  float  down  the  gentle  stream  to  the  great  city  of 
their  rest;  instead  of  which,  all  experience  and  all  revela- 
tion teach  them,  that  they  are  embarked  on  a  wide  and 
perilous  octnn,  where  they  must  watch  and  toil,  and  where 
they  can  make  no  progress  except  they  make  effort. 

Our  infatuation  on  this  point  is  dreadful.  Nothing  else 
comes  without  labor  and  perseverance.  Learning,  accom- 
plishments, distinction,  wealth, —they  are  all  earned;  and 
no  man,  who  desires  them,  hesitates  to  pay  for  them  the  full 
price,  enormous  as  it  sometimes  is,  at  which  alone  they  can 
be  possessed.  But  that  greatest  and  highest  attainment,  a 
perfect  human  character,  is  to  come  of  itself.  The  calm 
peace  of  self-government,  — the  holy  luxury  of  heavenly- 
mindedness  — the  lofty  and  complacent  dignity  of  spirit- 
ualized affections  — the  honor  of  being  like  God,  and  glory 
of  entering  with  Jesus  Christ  into  immortal  purity  and  love, 
—  this  we°expect  to  obtain  by  wishing  :  this  vast  acquisi- 
tion, this  unlimited  and  illimitable  boon,  we  look  at,  we 
admire,  we  long  for,  w^e  do  not  doubt  we  shall  posse.ss ; 
and  yet  we  make  for  it  nothing  like  the  effort  which  we 
make  to  get  bread  for  our  children  and  ornaments  to  our 
Jiouses. 


440  PROGRESS    OP    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  the  Christian  community  improves 
so  slowly.  No  wonder  that  exemplary  patterns  of  Christian 
attainment  are  so  rare.  No  wonder  that,  instead  of  seeing 
all  around  us  those  men  of  the  beatitudes,  those  partakers 
of  the  divine  nature,  those  illustrious  imitators  of  God,  of 
whom  the  New  Testament  speaks,  and  whom  Christ  meant  to 
fashion  as  his  peculiar  people,  we  are  compelled  to  mourn 
over  inconsistency  and  frailty  —  compelled  to  hide  a  multitude 
of  sins  in  our  good  men  with  the  mantle  of  a  wide  charity  — 
compelled  to  extenuate  and  apologize  for  our  own  and  our 
brethren's  faults,  on  the  score  of  that  human  imperfection, 
which  it  is  our  shame  that  we  have  not  long  ago  surmounted 
and  repressed.  No  wonder  that,  in  this  laxness  of  exertion 
toward  Christian  perfection,  the  world  still  waits  to  com- 
prehend the  meaning  of  that  description  which»speaks  of  a 
"royal  priesthood,"  "sons  of  God,"  "perfect  men  in  Christ 
Jesus.  "  For  where  are  they  ?  Here  and  there  one,  just 
to  satisfy  us  that  the  word  of  God  describes  no  impossibility 
—  just  enough  to  cast  unspeakable  reproach  and  shame  on 
the  indolence  of  the  backward  multitude  of  believers,  — 
backward,  because  they  make  no  true  effort  to  go  forward. 

But  it  is  not  this  listlessness  and  inaction  alone,  to  which 
we  are  to  look  as  the  cause  of  this  imperfect  measure  of 
Christian  attainment  amongst  us;  — much  is  to  be  imputed 
also  to  a  certain  vagueness  in  respect  to  the  nature  and  order 
of  Christian  progress.  Men  do  not  distinctly  perceive  what 
it  is,  nor  how  it  should  proceed.  The  same  inaccurate  and 
cloudy  notions  already  adverted  to,  which  persuade  them 
that  they  are  in  the  successful  prosecution  of  a  work  they 
have  never  expressly  begun,  nor  formed  any  express  pur- 
pose of  doing,  lead  them  also  to  believe  that  it  will  be,  by- 
and-by,  successfully  completed  in  some  general  way ;  but 
they  have  not  described  to  themselves  in  what  way   it  is  to 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  441 

be  —  they  indistinctly  see  they  must  go  forward,  but  they 
have  no  clear,  accurate  idea  of  the  path,  and  no  idea  what- 
ever of  the  stages  by  which  they  are  to  proceed.  In  a 
word,  their  notion  of  the  whole  subject  is  general  and  con- 
fused, amounting  to  nothing  more  than  that  they  are  to  be 
improving  themselves  and  advancing  toward  heaven ;  that 
they  are  to  grow  better  as  they  grow  older ; —  but  as  to  ana- 
lyzing this  idea,  and  reaching  an  actual  understanding  of  the 
several  points  in  regard  to  which  they  are  to  grow  better,  — 
this  is  foreign  from  their  thought ;  and  no  wonder  that 
this  vagueness  of  purpose  keeps  them  stationary. 

The  next  point,  therefore,  to  be  considered  is,  that  rili- 
giuus  progress  is  to  be  rnade  by  stages.  It  is  not  merely 
proceeding,  but  proceeding  from  one  point  to  another.  It 
is  not  merely  becoming  better,  but  becoming  better  first  in 
one  respect  and  then  in  another. 

All  progress  is  from  stage  to  stage.  In  the  processes  of 
nature  it  is  so ;  —  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear ;  —  a  contiimed  growth,  but  arriving  at  and 
passing  certain  epochs  or  periods  as  it  proceeds.  So  in  the 
growth  of  the  human  frame,  and  of  the  human  mind  ;  so 
in  the  advancement  of  society  and  knowledge.  No  science 
can  be  taught,  no  art  can  be  learned,  e.xcept  in  passing 
from  step  to  step;  one  portion  must  be  acquired  first  as  a 
preparation  for  another,  and  the  third  can  be  reached  only 
through  the  full  comprehension  of  the  second.  Why  should 
religious  knowledge  and  Christian  character  be  exceptions  ? 
Why  should  we  not  expect  in  their  pursuit  also  to  find  natural 
steps  of  advancement,  which  invite  us  to  aim  at  one  attain- 
ment in  the  first  place,  and  to  make  that  a  stepping-stone 
for  the  next  ?  And  if  our  religious  progress  were  divided 
out  for  us  into  portions,  would  not  its  accomplishment  be 
more  certain  and  more  satisfactory? 


442  PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

It  may  not  be  easy  —  indeed,  it  is  very  difficult — to  state 
distinctly  and  with  philosophical  exactness  the  successive 
stages  of  the  religious  progress ;  and  for  this  reason, 
among  others,  that  they  cannot  be  precisely  the  same  to  all 
men.  Even  the  author  of  that  celebrated  description  of 
the  Christian  life  which  depicts  the  Pilgrim's  progress, 
though  of  a  class  of  believers  who  have  gone  as  far  as  any 
in  making  Christian  experience  of  the  same  undeviating  type 
in  all  individuals  —  has  yet  found  it  necessary  to  allow  great 
varieties  in  the  several  histories  which  he  framed.  Greater 
varieties  still  will  be  allowed  by  most  persons  who  consider 
carefully  the  infinite  diversities  which  exist  in  the  natural 
tempers  and  dispositions  of  men,  and  the  circumstances  of 
education,  society,  business,  companions,  forms  of  life,  &i,c. 
in  which  men  are  placed.  It  is  inevitable  that,  under  this 
state  of  things,  no  minute  account  can  be  given  of  the 
stages  of  Christian  progress  which  will  precisely  apply  to  all 
persons.  We  can  state  nothing  more  than  a  few  general 
principles,  of  whose  varying  application  every  man  must 
judge  for  himself 

Thus  we  may  say,  first,  this  culture  of  character  which 
you  have  undertaken  is  a  vast  and  complicated  thing :  it 
is  not  one  thing,  but  many ;  and  it  demands  equal  watchful- 
ness and  effort  in  many  directions,  as  to  the  thoughts,  the 
passions,  the  words,  the  actions.  It  demands  right  affec- 
tions toward  all  objects  that  concern  you  in  this  world,  and 
in  the  invisible  world  ;  the  proper  balance  of  the  affections  ; 
the  due  adjustment  of  the  habits  with  the  principle ;  the 
true  combination  of  freedom  and  restraint,  of  contemplation 
with  action,  of  firmness  with  gentleness.  It  demands  knowl- 
edge, self-restraint,  watchfulness,  and  action,  in  so  many  di- 
rections, on  so  many  subjects,  and  so  unintcrmittingly,  that 
to  undertake  the  whole  at  once,  to  assume  the  equal  charge 


PROGIIESS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  443 

of  all,  and  attempt  their  faithful  regulation  at  the  same  mo- 
ment, is  a  task  that  might  well  seem  desperate.  The  work 
must  be  divided  and  classified  ;  the  field  must  be  separated 
into  portions ;  special  attention  must  be  first  bestowed  on 
this,  and  tiien  on  th;it,  and  the  huge  labor  be  facilitated  by 
partition,  the  long  journey  accomplished  by  stages. 

Then,  secondly,  as  respects  the  precise  order  in  which 
the  several  objects  shall  be  taken  up  and  accomplished,  it  is 
clear  that  the  first  care  should  be  to  establish  the  dominion 
of  some  great  leading  principle  in  the  soul,  some  one 
master  authority,  to  whose  pervading  influence  all  shall 
submit,  and  from  whose  absolute  word  there  shall  be  no 
appeal.  This  will  be  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  charac- 
ter steadfast  and  strong,  and  to  further  and  facilitate  the  unity 
and  compactness  of  the  whole  structure.  And  the  Creator 
has  provided  for  this  in  the  very  constitution  he  has  framed, 
by  making  conscience  the  supreme  power,  and  ordaining 
that  every  faculty  and  disposition  shall  bow  to  its  sway. 
To  assure  to  conscience  its  rightful  sovereignty  is,  therefore, 
the  first  object ;  to  this  one  great  end  the  attention  should 
be  directed  and  the  chief  effort  made,  because,  until  con- 
science sits  monarch  in  the  soul,  all  effort  after  permanent 
moral  advancement  must  be  vain ;  and  afterward  none  can 
be  lost;  and  in  the  mean  time,  while  this  is  going  on,  much 
discipline  of  the  heart  and  the  life  will  be  unconsciously 
accomplished  which  otherwise  might  demand  serious  labor. 
Let  the  vigor  of  the  soul,  then,  be  concentrated  to  the  ac- 
complishment of  this  result,  rather  than  dissipated  and  en- 
feebled in  the  attempt  to  perform  several  acts  of  inferior 
moment. 

Having  made  some  progress  in  this  great  work,  there  is 
another  distinct  object  which  may  in  the  same  way  com- 
mand the  ppeci;d  attention  of  the  soul,  and   be  made  mat- 


444  PROGRESS    OP    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

ter  of  studious  and  almost  exclusive  consideration  —  the 
predominant  affection,  namely.  This  is  of  not  inferior  con- 
sequence to  that  just  mentioned.  That  to  which  the  heart 
is  devoted  decides  the  character  ;  and  if  the  character  is 
matter  of  solicitude,  especially  is  it  matter  of  solicitude  to 
decide  what  shall  be  mistress  of  the  heart.  Here  the  case 
is  plain.  Love  is  the  first  and  second  thing  ;  love  is  the 
fulfilling  of  the  law ;  he  that  dwells  in  love  dwells  in  God. 
This  is  the  principle  that  must  sway  the  affections :  when  it 
does,  the  law  will  be  fulfilled,  and  the  soul  will  dwell  with 
God,  without  any  minute  and  painful  toiling  after  the  petty 
details  of  duty.  Let  this,  then,  be  a  distinct  study,  — the  sep- 
arate and  express  aim,  —  until  the  characteristics  of  divine 
love  are  impressed  deeply  on  the  heart,  and  all  meaner  affec- 
tions recognize  and  bow  to  its  dominion. 

Another  distinct  object  must  be,  to  gain  an  evei'-wakcful 
consciousness  of  the  divine  presence.  The  good  child  must 
learn  to  feel  the  Father's  presence,  must  never  lose  sight  of 
his  eye ;  and  it  is  essential  to  spiritual  growth  that  the  spirit 
human  should  be  always  aware  of  its  contact  with  the  Spirit 
divine.  This  is  to  be  learned.  This  must  become  a  habit. 
And  it  can  only  be  by  making  it  a  subject  of  distinct  study 
and  effort;  so  that  the  soul,  which  the  officious  senses  would 
restrict  to  this  visible  scene  of  things,  may  be  able  to  strug- 
gle away  from  them,  and  look  alway  at  the  things  which  are 
unseen  and  eternal. 

Let  these  suffice  for  specimens  of  what  is  intended  by 
stages  in  the  religious  progress.  I  trust  I  have  said  enough 
to  exhibit  my  meaning  clearly.  The  doctrine  I  would  in- 
culcate is,  that,  instead  of  proposing  to  ourselves,  in  generni 
terms,  the  vast  and  vague  purpose  of  becoming  religious, 
we  should  parcel  out  our  duty  into  its  natural  departments, 
and  make  each  the  object  of  separate  discipline,  until  we 


PROGRESS    Of    THE    CHRISTIAN    LllE.  445 

have  become  in  some  measure  adepts  in  it,  and  then  at- 
tend in  the  same  way  to  another.  Of  course,  this  method 
cannot  be  pursued  to  the  letter;  no  one  can  exclusively 
cultivate  his  conscience,  and  have  no  care  of  his  affections ; 
nor  cherish  the  thought  of  God,  and  yet  neglect  his  con- 
science. On  the  contrary,  attention  to  either  of  these  objects 
greatly  tends  to  fix  attention  on  the  other  two ;  but  unques- 
tionably the  greatest  proficiency  in  regard  to  each  and  to  all 
would  be  achieved  by  an  effort  .specially  directed  to  one  at 
a  time. 

This  general  principle  might  be  illustrated  and  explained 
to  a  much  greater  extent;  but  enough  has  been  said  to 
render  it  intelligible,  and  show  its  application.  One  thing 
at  a  time,  though  a  rule  impossible  to  be  literally  adhered 
to,  is  yet,  as  far  as  it  may  be  observed,  as  wise  in  the  prog- 
ress of  the  religious  character  as  in  any  other  important 
affair. 

38 


PUBI.U'.VnoXS   BY  JAMES  MUNEOE  AND  COMPANY. 

LIVERMORE'S  COMMENTARY. 

*  The  l-'oiir  (iospcls,  witli  a  Coiumcntar)',  intended  for  Sabbath  School 
Teachers  and  Bible  Classes,  and  as  an  Aid  to  Family  Instruction.  By 
A.  A.  LiVEKMouE.    St.  Ed.    2  vols.     12ino.     Cloth.     ^2,00. 

"  We  feel  certain  it  will  meet  the  wants  of  all  who  call  themselves 
liberal  Cliristians,  as  a  family  expositor,  a  reference  book  in  the  study 
of  the  Gospel,  a  companion  in  the  Sunday  School,  and  an  aid  to  daily 
devotion.  It  is  learned,  yet  not  dry;  rational,  yet  not  cold;  fervent, 
yet  not  fanatical;  tasteful,  yet  not  one  line  for  inere  taste.  Mr.  Liv- 
erniore  is  concise,  practical,  reasonable,  full  of  generous  and  holy 
feeling." —  Huiit'n  Mat/aziiic. 

LIVERMORE'S   COMMENTARY   ON   ACTS. 

*  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  with  a  Map. 
By  A.  A.  LivKRMOitE.     l2mo.     Cloth.     $l,(M. 

"  These  Commentaries  give  a  clear,  correct,  evangelical  view  of  the 
doctrines  which  Christ  and  the  apostles  taiiglit ;  they  fully  e.vplain  all 
ditiicult  passages,  and  furnish  much  valuable  information  upon  ancient 
geography,  history,  biography,  customs,  manners,  &c.;  in  a  word,  I 
think  they  will  be  prolitable  'for  doctrine,  for  instruction,  for  practice 
and  devotion."  —  christian  Inquin-r. 

LIVERMORE'S    LECTURES   TO   YOUNG   MEN. 

Lectures  to  Young  Men,  on  their  Moral  Dangers  and  Duties.  By 
Abiel  Abbot  Liveumoke.     Third  Edition.     Kj'mo.     Cloth.    5()c. 

"  Good  cannot  but  follow  in  proportion  to  the  widenoss  with  which 
they  are  read."  —  Brooklyn  Ear/ie. 

"  These  Lectures  are  marked  by  good,  plain,  common  sense." —  Cliris- 
timi  World. 

"  With  earnestness  and  distinctness,  the  duties  of  young  men  are 
carefully  defined,  in  a  way  which  will  command  respect  and  attenticm." 
—  Ddili/  Adrcrtificr. 

LIFE   OF    FiCHTE, 

Memoir  of  Joh.vn  Gottmeb  Fichte.  By  Wii,li.\m  S.mith.  12mo. 
Cloth.     5')c. 

"  To  those  who  are  fond  of  reading  the  biography  of  the  great  and 
good,  this  book  will  furnish  a  rare  treat." 

LAST   DAYS  OF   THE  SAVIOUR. 

The  Last  Days  of  the  Saviour,  or  History  of  the  Lord's  Passion.   From 
the  German  of  OL.sa.\rsEN,  by  S.vmuel'O.scjood.     16mo.     Cloth.    62c. 
MARTINEAU'S   HAMLETS; 

A  Tale  by  II.vkriex  M.vktixk.vi'.     18mo.     Cloth.     38c. 

MARTINEAU'S    ENDEAVORS 

*  After  the  Christian  Life.  X  volume  of  Discourses,  bv  J.\me3  Mauti- 
m:.\u.     12mo.     Cloth.     81c. 

MARSHALL   UPON    THE   FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION, 

Being  the  Opinions  delivered  by  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  on  Constitutional  Questions.  With  an 
Appendi.K,  containing  the  Decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  on  Ques- 
tions of  this  Class,  as  delivered  by  other  Judges,  prior  to  the  Death  of 
Marshall.     8vo.     Cloth  53,.50.     Law  Sheep  ^4,00. 

."  As  Washington  is  called  the  Father  of  his  Country,  with  equal 
propriety,  Marshall,  above  all  others,  is  honored  as  the  '  Expounder 
of  th«  Constitution.'  " 

3  25 


PUBLICATIONS   liV   JAWEH    MLfNUOli;   AND   COMPANY. 

NORTON   ON   THE  GOSPELS. 

*  The   Pjvidences   of   the   Genuineness  of   the   Gospels.    3  vols.     8vo. 

New  Edition.    CIdIU.    ,'j,'.),00.     IJo.  do.  vols.  2  and  3  separately.    ^3,00. 

NOYES'S   HEBREW   PROPHETS. 

*  A  New  Translation  of  the  Hebrew  Prophets,  arranged  in  Chronologi- 
cal Order.  By  Georgi;  li.  Noyes.  New  Edition,  with  Additions. 
3  vols.     12mo.     Cloth.     ^3,38. 

"  This  new  edition  is  of  increased  value  on  account  of  the  additions 
and  corrections  which  it  contains.  The  whole  series  of  volumes,  from 
the  pen  of  this  accomplished  Hebrew  scholar,  may  now  be  obtained  in 
a  uuiform  shape,  and  is  of  great  value,  and  of  high  importance  to  all 
students  of  the  Bible.  Common  readers  will  be  surprised  to  observe 
how  many  passages,  which  are  unintelligible  to  them  in  the  common 
version,  are  here  made  plain  and  significant  by  a  slight  change  of  ex- 
pression, of  the  meaning  of  a  single  word,  or  the  turn  of  a  sentence." 

—  Christian  Rcjiaicr. 

NOYES'S  JOB. 

*  An  Amended  Version  of  the  Book  of  Job,  with  an  Introduction  and 
Notes,  chiefly  explanatory.  Second  Edition,  revised  and  corrected. 
12mo.     Clotli.     ^1,13. 

NOYES'S  PROVERBS,  ECCLESI ASTES,  AND  CANTICLES, 

*  With  Introductions  and  Notes,  cliiefly  explanatory.  1  vol.  12nio. 
Cloth.     ^1,13. 

"  There  is  no  man  whose  labors  in  this  department  of  learning  de- 
serve a  more  respectful  notice  than  Dr.  Noyes,  and  no  man  certainly 
•whose  books  so  well  deserve  to  be  purchased  and  studied ;  for  in  a 
compact  form  they  imbody  the  accurate  results  of  great  learning,  and 
throw  mvich  light  on  obscure  and  difScult  parts  of  the  sacred  writings." 

—  Christian  Recjister. 

NOYES'S   PSALMS. 

*  A  New  Translation  of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  with  an  Introduction  and 
Notes.     Second  Edition.     12mo.     Cloth.     $l,\Z. 

"  A  new  edition,  and  an  improvement  on  the  first,  excellent  as  that 
was."  —  Boston  Recorder. 

PARKER'S   MISCELLANEOUS   WRITINGS. 

*  The  Critical  and  Miscellaneous  Writings  of  Theodobe  Parker,  Min- 
ister of  the  Second  Church  in  lloxbury.     1vol.     12mo.     Cloth.     $\,'iJi. 

"  AVe  are  glad  to  see  these  miscellanies  republished,  and  think  all 
who  read  them  will  enjoy  their  spirit,  even  when  they  disagree  with 
their  doctrines.  The  tone  of  earnest  conviction,  the  glow  of  feeling, 
the  occasional  beauty  of  expression  in  these  pages,  is  very  refreshing." 

—  Hunt's  McKjazinc. 

PARKMAN'S   OFFERING   OF   SYMPATHY. 

Offering  of  Sympathy  to  the  Afllicted;  especially  to  Parents  bereaved 
of  their  Children.  Being  a  Collection  from  Manuscripts  never  before 
published.  With  an  Appendix  of  Extracts.  Third  Edition.  ISmo. 
Cloth.     63c. 

"Though  small,  it  is  rich  in  comfort  and  instruction."  —  Monthly 
Miscellany. 

"  It  has  carried  comfort  to  many  a  heart.  "We  wish  it  well  on  its 
errand  of  peace." —  Christian  Examiner. 

27 


PUBLICATIONS   BV   JAMKS   MI'.NROK   AM)   COMPA.N? 


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"  Both  as  to  its  substance  and  form,  it  is  a  work  of  an  excellent  de- 
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happy  in  having  this  opportunity  to  recommend  it  most  cordially."  — 
Christian  Disciple. 

BROOKS'S   CHRISTIAN   IN    HIS   CLOSET; 

•  Or,  rraycr>  for  Individuals;  adapted  to  the  various  Ages  and  Condi- 
tions of  Life.     13y  Kev.  Ch.vri,es  Bkooks.     12mo.     Cloth.     38c. 

BUCKMINSTER'S    WORKS. 

*  The  Works  of  Joseph  Stevens  Buckminstee,  with  Memoirs  of  his 
Life.     2  vols.     12mo.     Cloth.     ^"3,00. 

"  One  of  the  first  religious  books  we  remember  to  have  read  was  the 
first  volume  of  Buckniinster's  Sermons ;  and  the  beautifully-writteu 
life,  and  two  or  three  of  tlie  discourses,  fixed  themselves  in  the  mind.as 
nothing  is  fixed  there  save  in  our  early  years. 

"  llis  sermons,  as  sermons,  are  certainly  surjiassed  by  none  in  the 
language."  —  Monihhj  Miscillani/. 

BURNAP'S   EXPOSITORY   LECTURES 

On  the  Principal  Passages  of  the  Scriptures  which  relate  to  the  Doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity.  By  George  W.  Biuxap,  Pastor  of  the  First  In- 
dependent Church.  Baltimore.     I2mo.     Cloth.     51,00. 

'•These  Lectures  discuss  topics  concerning  which  a  ditTercnce  of 
opinion  exists,  but  in  a  truly,  catholic  spirit.  It  is  refreshing,  in  these 
days  of  controversy,  to  meet  Avith  a  volume  of  divinity  that  one  can 
read  with  composure."  —  Sulcm  Observer. 

BURNAP'S  WHAT  IS  UNITARIANISM  ? 

A  Volunio  of  Lectures,  by  Kev.  (J.  \V.  IJi-UN.vr.     12mo.     In  press. 

BUTLER'S   HORAE   BIBLICAE  j 

Being  a  Connected  Series  of  Notes  on  the  Text  and  Literary  History 
of  the  Bibles,  or  Sacred  Books  of  the  Jews  and  Christians  &e 
I2mo.     Cloth.    oOc. 

BEAUTIES  OF  CHANNING. 

By  WiLLiAl  MouNTFoui),  A.  M.  From  the  last  English  Edition. 
In  press. 

CARLYLE'S   GERMAN   ROMANCE. 

Specimens  of  its  Chief  Authors  ;  with  Biographical  and  Critical  Notices 
by  TuoMAs  Caui.yle.     2  vols.     12mo.     Cloth.    Steel  Portrait.     ,J2,60. 

CARLYLE'S   PAST   AND   PRESENT. 

12mo.     Boards.     7'5c. 

CARLYLE'S  SARTOR   RESARTUS. 

12mo.     Cloth.     With  portrait.     63c. 

"  Carlyle  views  to  teach  truths  of  vastlv  more  importance  than  any 
thing  pertaining  to  outward  covering  and  adornment.  Nor,  as  many 
think,  is  his  labor  all  in  vain." — Traveller. 

16 


PUDLICATIONS    BY   JAMCS   .MUNROE   AXD   COMPANY. 

DANA'S   LETTERS. 

*  Letters  addressed  to  Relatives  aud  Friends,  chiefly  in  Reply  to  Arf?u- 
mcnts  in  Siipixjrt  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  By  Maiiy  S.  B. 
Da.na,  Aiitlior  of  the  Southern  and  Northern  Harps,  (S:c.  12«io.  pp. 
318.     Cloth.     621c. 

"  It  is  one  of  the  most  readable  books  of  controversial  theology  with 
which  we  have  ever  met.  Its  arf^unient  is  relieved  of  all  drvness,  by 
being  colored  with  the  feelings  of  a  woman  who  is  anxious  to  justify  to 
her  nearest  friends  a  course  which  is  very  painful  to  them,  but  which 
she  feels  bound  in  conscience  to  take.  To  any  one  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject, it  is  well  worth  the  reading,  and,  if  we  may  judge  from  ourselves, 
whoever  begins  it  is  not  likely  to  lay  it  down  till  he  sees  the  end."  — 
Examiiier. 

DE    WETTE'S  THEODORE; 

Or,  the  Skeptic's  Conversion.  History  of  tlie  Culture  of  a  Protestant 
Clergvman.  Translated  from  the  German.  By  J.vmes  F.  Clauke. 
2  vols.     12mo.     Cloth.     ,g2,00. 

"  This  work  contairts  a  summary  view  of  the  principal  tendencies 
and  strivings  of  the  theological  world  at  the  present  time,  and  may  aid 
those  who  take  an  interest  in  this  subject,  but  are  unable  to  study  nu- 
merous works,  to  gain  a  general  idea  concerning  it.  It  may  assist 
young  theologians,  by  helping  them  to  a  clew  by  which  to  find  their 
way  through  the  labyrinth  of  contradictory  systems." — I'nfcwe. 

DE   WETTE'S   HUMAN    LIFE,   OR    PRACTICAL   ETHICS. 

Translated  from  the  German.  By  Samuel  Osgood.  2  vols.  12mo. 
Cloth.     ^2,00. 

"  These  lectures  have  long  enjoyed  a  high  reputation  in  Germany, 
and  other  parts  of  Europe,  and  we  hail  with  unfeigned  pleasure  their 
publication  in  this  country.  They  are  eminently  original,  profound, 
and  suggestive."  —  yew  World. 

"  Those  interested  in  the  study  of  ethics  will  find  in  the  present 
volumes  a  beautiful  richness  of  illustration,  and  an  extended  consid- 
eration of  the  practical  duties  of  life."  —  American  Eclectic. 

DE   WETTE   ON   THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 

*  A  Critical  and  Historical  Introduction  to  the  Canonical  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  Testament.  From  the  German  of  De  Wette.  Translated 
and  enlarged  by  Theodoue  Parkeu.     2  vols.     8vo.     Cloth.     ^4,50. 

DWIGHT'S  SELECT  MINOR  POEMS; 

Translated  from  the  German  of  Goethe  and  ScHiLiSm,  with  Notes. 
12mo.     Cloth.     j?l,00. 

"  Mr.  Dwight  has  executed  his  task  with  great  fidelity."  — Nero  York 
Evening/  Post. 

EMERSON'S   POEMS. 

*  Poems.     By  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson.     16mo.    Cloth.    8Sc. 

"  A  poet  of  feeling,  of  judgment,  of  truth." —  U.  S.  Gazette. 

"  There  are  in  this  volume  unmistakable  evidences  of  genius ;  the 
soul  of  the  poet  flashes  out  continually ;  and  the  hand  of  the  poet  is 
seen  often."  —  London  Critic. 

"  His  lines  are  full  of  meaning  and  suggestion."  —  Inquirer. 

"Mr.  Emerson  is  a  poet  of  very  rare  poetical  powers."  —  Daily  Ai- 
vertiser. 

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